Potter, No Angst
by Don E. Delivery
Summary: Harry grows up without the threat of Voldemort and is sorted into Ravenclaw. He's been allowed a lot more free time... to chase girls. The only problem? Some girls want to chase him. Arrogant!Harry, Ginny/Harry/Hermione, Harry/Pansy, Harry/Luna. Humor and Romance.
1. Chapter One

A/N - 3/29/2012: I have revised the first chapter, as I grew to loathe how it originally started and there were a few inconsistencies that I noticed. This should not effect the two other chapters currently posted.

This story assumes that Voldemort was never bandied about as a spirit that could come back to life at anytime. In this Alternate Universe his death has been celebrated, as well as Harry's survival, but he shall not be returning to the world of the living. Thus, the title of the fic.

He has also been sorted into Ravenclaw, and has never developed much a relationship with any of the Weasleys or Hermione. He is still very much enemies with Draco, and his popularity is just as it was in the books, without the drawback of a bunch of students ready to hand him over to Voldemort and a bunch who believe him to be the Chosen One.

In other words, he's just a really popular kid, with a fair amount of smarts and better than average good looks. I hope that everyone will enjoy this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it thus far, and I also hope to be completely finished with it by July of this calender year.

If you have any questions, you are welcome to leave me a review and I will try to contact you back, but it would be a lot easier to join me on the Dark Lord Potter forums, where my story is being posted and talked about before it ever reaches .

Finally, thanks for reading, please take it in the spirit it was written, and thanks for the fish!

-Averis

Potter, No Angst

Averis

Chapter One: My Traitorous Libido/First Dilemma

Harry walked swiftly down the corridor towards his dreary destination deep in the dungeons of Hogwarts. Ravenclaw students lined the corridor, only a few of them mingling with the Hufflepuffs who had just filed out of Professor Flitwick's Charms' classroom.

"How was class?" asked Susan Bones, simultaneously slinging her bag over her shoulder and pulling Hannah Abbott along behind her. They bridged the gap between the students, and Harry could spy Ernie MacMillan making his way over to greet him as well.

"Lets just say I'm glad it's History," he quipped. "How was Charms?"

Susan prodded Hannah, who sighed and turned away from Harry. The silence was palpably tense, owing to Harry and Hannah's own personal history, or more accurately, their recent break-up.

Harry shook hands with Ernie, who took a long moment to smile at Hannah before nodding slightly at Susan. Harry thought he could see a shadow pass over the boy's eyes, but as soon as he looked closer it was gone. He shrugged it off with only the smallest of twinges in his gut, figuring that Ernie probably had the hots for Hannah, which meant it wouldn't be very long before she was on to her next conquest.

He didn't mind really. Their relationship had flared and burned just like his others; one minute they were kissing behind the Professor's back and the next they couldn't even speak without biting eachother's heads off. Harry decided he would rather be hit with the Cruciatus than deal with anymore wishy-washy females.

Sensing the embarrassing situation on the verge of crashing down on all of them, Susan covered up the awkward moment by declaring, "It was fine, Harry. We'll see you later." Hannah rolled her eyes and Susan guided her friend further down the hallway, frowning and whispering in her ear. Ernie followed them a few seconds later, sparing only a cursory glance at Harry, who had stopped walking just to get away from the Hufflepuff trio.

Harry frowned. Susan was a good friend, and he knew she was just trying to reconcile Harry and Hannah, so her poor attempt to get them to talk didn't really bother him. What concerned him was the simple fact that Susan didn't know it had been Hannah that broke up with Harry in the first place.

Shaking the thought from his already pre-occupied brain, he nodded at a group of giggling girls and continued on his way. This year, his sixth at Hogwarts, had seen a rapid expansion in his dating options, perhaps owing to his great grades, better than average looks and the knowledge that he was, if not the most popular student inside of Hogwarts, the most popular Hogwarts student in the world. He grinned wryly thinking to himself that things could be worse than having the majority of the females in your school interested in you.

More than once he had heard from Luna about a group of Ravenclaw girls describing the things they would do to him if only they were lucky enough to be locked in a linen closet with him, and if he was completely honest with himself, a few of them would be welcome additions to the Harry Potter fan club.

"Harry!" called someone behind him as he turned a corner. After a moment's thought he recognized the voice as the easily excitable fifth year Gryffindor, Ginny Weasley. He recalled vaguely that she had five or six older brothers, and that one of them was a member of the Gryffindor Quidditch squad, a lanky redhead named Ron. They had rarely spoken, but he had always seemed like a nice enough chap even though his temper was well-known throughout the school. Harry grinned inwardly as the quite pretty girl came closer; judging by the way Ginny was eyeing him as she walked his way, Harry and Ron might become a lot more familiar.

"Yes, ma'am," Harry drawled, cocking one eyebrow and trying to look as eager as possible. It was an expression he had worked on a lot because it simply worked on a lot of girls.

She giggled softly and slapped him lightly on the arm. "You don't have to call me ma'am, Harry." She tried to lock eyes with him and he was disconcerted by how fiercely interested in him she looked.

"Yes, ma'am," he said, smiling. Ginny leaned in close, and for a moment could smell her perfume. She laughed again, and this time it resonated in him, causing him to join her in laughter, if only for a moment.

Then she seemed to realize she had a reason for being there because she quickly cut to the chase. "Do you think we could go somewhere and talk more privately? I need to ask you a big favor but I don't want everyone over here to... overhear," she finished lamely. Harry smiled at her obvious nervousness and it endeared her to him slightly.

"Sure, why not?" he said. Then he slapped his forehead, causing the side opposite from his scar to become red. "Oh, that's right, I can't! I'm going to be late for Potions right now."

He started to walk off, causing Ginny to frown, but then he turned back around long enough to say, "Meet me at the library in two hours if you want to talk, okay? I'll be sitting at the table closest to the front door."

Ginny smiled brilliantly and stood a little straighter than before.

"I will see you very soon..."

Harry just smiled and continued walking, assuming the only thing Ginny would want to talk about is a relationship between them. She was nice, he thought, certainly attractive, but he didn't want to deal with a family full of angry boys unless the girl was a knockout. Harry was not the type of person that was so shallow he rated women based on looks... but if he was honest she was an eight, eight and a half at best. There were at least ten girls in the school he'd rather be with, and one or two that he already had.

These thoughts led him to the door of the Potion's 'classroom' so he swiftly joined the rest of the crowd and made his way to a seat near the back. It was never worth it to sit in the front, as Slughorn was likely to make a spectacle of him, and while he wasn't one to shy away from the spotlight, he was feeling rather run down as this was the last class of the day. The spot next to him was empty, so he took care to place his things on the desk where they needed to be and to get prepared for the beginning of class. After a few more minutes of students piling in, he found himself accompanied by one of the best looking girls in the year. Unfortunately for him, she was also dating Draco Malfoy and she thought far too much of herself.

"Pansy," Harry said by way of greeting. She merely nodded uncaringly and began placing her things on the desk. After a moment's thought, Harry said, "If you don't mind me asking, where is Draco today?"

She shifted her bag to the floor and brandished her wand, levitating her  
>cauldron onto the desk and then using her wand to reseal her bag. Harry was unmoved by the small display of magic and continued looking at her questioningly. Finally she responded, sounding more than a little perturbed. "He is at the Ministry as he has been allowed to get his Apparation license early and chose today to do so. And just so you know, I do mind, so kindly do your work silently and we'll have no problems." After a moment's pause she added, "In other words, mind your business."<p>

Harry was affronted. "Well, why did you sit beside me then?"

"Because I assumed you wouldn't talk to me, Potter," she spat, acting like it was completely obvious. "I thought maybe I could have some peace and quiet while I was brewing." She rolled her eyes, causing Harry to glimpse the tiny smile she carried, but only long enough for him to recognize that Pansy was enjoying this little conversation. "I guess that's ruined now. I should have sat somewhere else."

Harry looked around, noting that there were other places she could have sat, and some of those spots were still empty and beside Slytherin students. It didn't take a curse-breaker to figure out this puzzle, yet Harry was at a loss as to why she would willingly sit beside him and then insult him. Eventually he assumed if she had something to do or say to him, she would do it in time, so he simply waited for Slughorn to start the class.

After a few minutes Horace Slughorn joined them in the classroom, dragging what looked to be an overgrown mandrake in one hand and a blade the size of a machede in his other; Harry noted that the mandrake was already dead, and correctly assumed that they would be making a potion that had something to do with petrification. He was certain it couldn't be a cure all, as it would take several months to brew enough of that, but he knew that mandrake roots were also used in anti-wrinkle creams and other nonsense he had no need for at the age of sixteen.

His suspicions were confirmed when Slughorn set them to task a few minutes later and Harry winced when the Professor began chopping away at the recently-deceased mandrake before handing equal portions to the slightly queasy students. He directed them to also take supplies from the cupboard across the room, so Harry soon found himself picking dead insects out of a container and examining them for girth.

As he was considering a particularly large dung beetle, Marcus Belby clapped him on the back and asked him how his day was going.

"Everything is lovely," he said, while balancing a newt eyeball on top of his other materials. It rolled so that it looked as if it was staring Marcus down imperiously. Marcus blinked. "What classes did you have today?"

Students that had already completed their OWL levels often had smaller classes, and even amongst their own Houses the classes deviated. Marcus and Padma had not made it into the next level Charms class that Harry had been in earlier, so this was the first time he had seen either of them that day.

Marcus groaned aloud, causing Padma Patil to giggle and interrupt him. "He had Defense with Snape and he made him block curses for half the class. The only problem was that Marcus wasn't allowed to use a Shield spell."

Shaking his head sadly, Marcus agreed with her. "Yeah. Thirty minutes of using levitation charms on my desk to keep him from stinging me all over. I can now say without a shadow of a doubt that I've mastered the levitation spell we learned in first year."

Harry laughed quietly, patting his good friend on the back. "Don't worry about it, yeah? At least you know that you're not his least favorite pupil. That dubious honor falls to me."

He swept his arm forward and retreated slowly to his desk, taking great care to check out Padma's ample busom as he parted. If he hadn't broken her twin sister's heart in fourth year he might take a crack at her himself.

"Stupid, Harry," he muttered, and ignored the strange look he received from Pansy.

Harry made a show of setting his supplies on his desk, being deliberately careful not to agitate his partner, who had already begun the day's project and was a couple steps into it. He took a moment to glance at the busy girl, whose lovely black hair framed her face as she worked over the bubbling cauldron. She was the true image of a witch, he thought, and the fire lighting up her face made her look half mad, but completely sensual and most definitely attractive.

He found himself so distracted that he knocked his cauldron off of the burner and it rattled loudly, a resounding echo that was lost amongst the other din going on in the classroom.

"Shh," she all but shouted, giving him the dirtiest look she could muster on such short notice. To his credit, he just shrugged and, once she had returned to working, flipped her both birds.

Lavender happened to catch him in the act of toasting his partner and he could have sworn he saw her crack a smile though she had turned around before he really had time to be sure. Suddenly thinking of the time, he looked down at his watch and was surprised to find that fifteen minutes had already passed in the class period so he hurried to get started. Luckily he was quite talented in potions, a trait that Slughorn often said Harry had inherited from his mother, and he made short work of the potion. By the time the class period had expired he had bottled a perfectly brewed anti-aging potion and he placed it on Slughorn's desk under the watchful smile of his Professor.

"Very nice consistency, the proper color as well. I think that's another O for you, Mr. Potter," he said, scribbling lightly on a scroll on his desk. Harry nodded his thanks and as quickly as possible made his way towards the exit. When he reached it he found himself beside Pansy, who all but shoved him out of the way in her haste to get out of the class.

"Excuse me," Harry said sarcastically, feeling a little insulted despite himself. He knew the girl to be a frigid bitch, but it didn't give her the right to be the first out the door when he was closer.

"Excuse you," was the curt reply, and she flipped her hair with one hand, revealing her bare neck which was pale but very inviting. Harry was momentarily caught staring. In addition to being cold as ice, Pansy was also undeniably hot, and the girl noticed before he could shift his eyes away. As cunning and cruel as any Slytherin, she called him out immediately. "Do you like what you see, Potter?"

She asked it in such a way that he responded before he could really think it through. "Yes," he said, completely honest. Surprised, she actually giggled for a moment, covering it up with a cough and reddening slightly. Spurred on by her uncharacteristic behavior, Harry looked around and, noting that very few people were paying attention he whispered, "Too bad it's wasted on a poncy little cunt like Malfoy."

She sneered, but didn't reprimand him for insulting her boyfriend. "We're betrothed, you know. So I would watch what I say," she threatened.

Harry nodded, having heard about her parents' decision a little more than a year before. "But you haven't," he began, gesturing suggestively with his hands, "been 'doing things' yet, have you?" He laughed a little at her offended gasp, and he knew that his assumption had been right on the money.

She snarled and whispered savagely, "That is none of your business." Harry put his hands up, conceding the point. After a few seconds where she glared at him and he smiled at her, she threw up her hands and started walking. Dead set on annoying her for some unknown reason, Harry followed her even though he was supposed to be meeting Ginny in the library. Pansy headed deeper into the dungeons, presumably to where the Slytherin common room was located.

"What if I were to make it my business, Pansy?" he said, partly to see what she'd say, and partly because he wanted to know how she put up with the slimey little prince. "Half the time Draco wants to talk down to you, the rest of the time he won't even talk. You're seventeen now so why don't you make your own decisions?"

"Shut up, Potter. We both know that you will never understand Pureblood politics."

Rather than take offense, Harry just laughed. "Try me, Parkinson. I'm in Ravenclaw for a reason; I do occasionally read things."

She laughed in turn, though hers was somewhat more sadistic. "Oh, because you read a book you think you can interrogate me about the person I'm supposed to marry and the relationship that I have with my parents, who you don't know and will never meet?" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm when she put a hand to her head in false woe. "Oh, Mr. Potter, please save me from my horrid life. I will give you my heart if only you slay my betrothed."

Harry chuckled. "Consider it done. I've been dying to slay him for some time now."'

She rolled her eyes, though Harry thought he saw a hint of a smile playing at the edges of her mouth. "Whatever, Harry." He noted immediately that she didn't say Potter.

They continued walking down the hall though Harry was going the opposite direction from his destination. He would be expected to meet Ginny in the next five minutes, and yet he was ten minutes on the other side of the school. 

"I'm serious, Pansy." They were passing a bunch of Slytherin students so Harry lowered his voice. "Draco is a terrible excuse for a human being and he should not be allowed to date a beautiful, intelligent girl, no matter who his father is, just because he has an agreement with your father and a well-paid Minister that will approve of it."

Still she resisted, feigning a yawn. "Please don't try and force yourself upon me because you want to be someone's valiant white knight. There are plenty of girls here to make notches on your bedpost."

Harry neglected to mention that he had been harboring similar thoughts earlier that afternoon. Instead, he laughed and said, "I'm not forcing myself on you, Parkinson. I just want to know why you bother with a lost cause and why you act so cold when really you're so much more than that."

She stopped walking at his comment and swung around to meet his questioning gaze. "Oh, really? And what am I to you, Potter? You've never spoken more than ten words at a time to me so what's with your sudden interest? Didn't Hannah Abbott just break up with you?"

She had, but he would deny it all the way to his grave if only to keep Pansy from wearing that smug little grin at his expense. Unfortunately, his lack of response might as well have been a confirmation, and a cat-like smile stretched across her plump, red lips.

She shook her head slowly, as if she was disappointed in him. "Are you so shallow you think you can fuck every girl in the school before you graduate? Would it give you a thrill to rub your hands all over my body?"

She punctuated her question with a rather fetching pose that only proved her point. Harry's tongue involuntarily licking his lips betrayed him when she stepped closer.

"It looks to me like the only reason you're interested is that I'm Draco Malfoy's fiancee." She was visibly angry and poked him in the chest twice. "So, tell me I'm wrong, because all I see is a lying, attention seeking fool who would stoop so low as to steal his biggest enemies' wife-to-be out from under him just to have her for a trophy."

More than a few people had stopped to watch them argue, though he didn't know any of them personally. He smiled at the wide-eyed students, hoping to diffuse the situation, and then stepped closer to Pansy, saying only so she could hear, "You are a powerful and intelligent witch who just happens to be oh so good-looking. I can see you know exactly how to give someone a tongue-lashing, but honestly, there are far nicer things I can think of you doing to me with that tongue." She opened her mouth to give him another telling off but he continued before she could. "And it certainly would give me a thrill to rub my hands all over your body, but not because of Draco. I want you... for me."  
>The last few words were whispered so softly that Pansy almost thought she didn't hear them, but despite her cold demeanor her neck flushed at his proximity. Before she could say anything smart in reply he bid her good day, turning away and walking off leaving her surprisingly breathless.<p>

Stamping her foot, she turned heel and followed him for a few minutes, thinking of the things she would say when she finally found him. When she realized she wasn't going to be able to find him because she didn't know where Ravenclaw's dorm was, she screamed, nearly sending a third year Hufflepuff boy careening off the stairs when she began retreating down them.

"I hate him!" she screamed to no one in particular. Still, no matter how much she loathed the raven-haired Ravenclaw, she couldn't deny that his public display of desire had her suddenly unsure about Draco, and she felt a shiver run down her spine at the thought of Harry touching her in places Draco didn't bother trying to reach. It was obvious to anybody with eyes and a pair of tits that Potter was a playboy, but that didn't stop her from wondering what it would be like.

Angry, but determined not to let Potter get the best of her, she made her way back to the Slytherin dungeons so that she could wait for her betrothed to return and tell her about his day. Or, more likely, ignore her and go straight to bed. Though she let out a wry chuckle at the last thought, her traitorous heart ached against her will and her legs took far longer to trace their way back to Slytherin than it should.

When she finally returned, Draco had not, so she retreated to her dorm, drew the curtains, and slept restlessly, dreaming of her tousled black locks splayed across the bedsheets while someone rubbed their hands down her body.

-

Harry strolled through the side library doors a few minutes later and could immediately see Ginny sitting at the table he had suggested. Harry had to give himself some credit; he had only asked for her to meet him there so that he could enter from the side and surprise her. She was turned away from him, twirling her hair around her finger with her attention rivetted on the front door.

Smiling, he crept up behind her and calmly put both of his hands over her eyes. She jumped, having been startled by how close he was, but she settled down when he said, "Guess who?"

He removed his hands and moved to sit across from her as she greeted him with an expectant smile. Then she tried, and failed, to look stern.

"Where have you been? I've been waiting..." She made a sad face and crossed her arms, and her robes dipped just low enough to see the very top of her developing cleavage.

Harry could have been honest and informed the innocent Miss Weasley that he had been chasing around a sixth year Slytherin that everyone in Gryffindor hated, or he could have just told her it was none of her business. Something inside of him told him she probably didn't want to hear that, but that didn't mean that it wasn't true.

Instead, Harry stuck his tongue out at her causing her to smile once more, and then he said, "Oh, you know Slughorn. Apparently my potion was so good he had to keep me back and explain why it was so good, in detail. Of course, I already knew that from the beginning. I was the one who made the potion!" 

Harry smiled happily as her eyes glazed over, a sure sign that she was watching his lips move and not really listening to what he was saying. He knew that he wasn't one of the best students in potions, but he had been successful in his class today and Ginny already thought of him as the Charms guru. Still, it was best not to sound too arrogant or she'd know he was full of it. 

"But I'm here now, so..." Harry let the last word stretch on, trying to emphasis he had more important places to be than in a library at the end of the school day.

She snapped to attention. Harry sent her a knowing glance, expecting her to ask him to Hogsmeade or something. He was bored with the place by now, as he had been sneaking out since first year, but he could show her something really exciting if she was daring enough to go inside the Shrieking Shack with him...

"Oh, right!" She took a deep breath and composed her features. "I really wanted to talk to you about Charms."

Harry mentally groaned, but through sheer luck he managed to keep a straight face. "Charms? I thought maybe this was about something else?" Harry was anything but subtle, especially when irritated.

"No, just Charms. Actually, some of my friends are looking for an older student to help us with a project we're doing, and we were hoping you could be the one. Professor Flitwick said you were one of his best students."

Harry appreciated having his ego stroked just as much as the next wizard, but he really did have an exceptional talent for Charms work. Flitwick had told him he was tops in the sixth year class and much better than anyone in his current seventh year class, but Harry had never been the type to freely give up his knowledge and he knew that he wasn't qualified to teach the subject either. It also occured to him that he didn't really want to get involved in tutoring a bunch of Gryffindor fifth years in his spare time. He had plenty of other worthwhile exploits, and while Ginny could possibly become a part of that, he didn't have an invested interest either way.

Buying time, Harry said, "Who are your friends?"

Ginny had been frowning, perhaps expecting that Harry would turn her down, but she brightened at his question. "Vickie Frobisher, Romilda Vane..."

She named off a few more students, all of them from fifth year and the majority of them female. Romilda had been tracking him around the school these days and Vickie was one of the finest girls in the school.

He was starting to come around to the idea of teaching.

"Oh, and Hermione said she would help with the reading materials and stuff, so you'd really only need to show us the practical part. She seemed to think you would prefer it that way," she finished, giggling a little.

Harry smiled. There was no way that this could go wrong.

Then Ginny ruined it all by saying, gleefully "Oh! My brother wants to be there too. He said he thinks he could really learn a lot about you. And about Charms too, you know? Oh, there they are!"

She waved at Ron and Hermione who were walking towards them. Both of them looked like they were in the middle of an argument.

"All I'm saying, Ron, is that you need to do your homework before Quidditch practice; that way, you wouldn't have to ask me to copy mine at the last minute and you might even learn something in process!"

Harry could see she had a point, but apparently Ron thought otherwise. "I've learned plenty from copying off of you, Hermione. Its like reading a textbook anyway."

Hermione growled. "Well, this time I'm putting my foot down. I work hard to get good grades, and if you would put in the time and energy, you would have the same result. I'm not going to answer every question for you when you don't even bother to study."

Ron was becoming irritated; Harry could see his ears turning red and the Gryffindor boy was pulling at his tie agitatedly. He took a calming breath and said, "I promise to try harder, but I'm just so tired when I get back to the Common Room. Katie doesn't really know what she's doing yet, so she just sets Ginny to chasing the snitch and lets the chasers practice throwing shots at me while the Beaters send bludgers at them."

This sounded reasonable to Harry, but Hermione had probably heard Ron's spiel before. "I don't care!" she shouted, getting irritated herself. "I'm not your mother, and I'm not going to baby you, especially since I've seen you make plenty of time for Lavender every night this week."

Harry chuckled, though he was careful to hide it from Ron. Best not to test him when he was turning as red as his hair. "Please, Hermione. This time I'm begging you!"

Hermione swung around, hitting his arm with her bag and causing him to flinch. "I am not doing your homework for you and that is final!" She punctuated each word with another slap from her bookbag, and finally Ron jumped away, rubbing his arm in pain.

"Why are you being so stubborn?" he asked, ignoring the laughter coming from Harry.

"Stubborn?" she screeched. "Because I refuse to do your work for you I'm being stubborn? I'll tell you something Ron Weasley, and you better listen right now because I won't be saying it twice. If you ask me one more time today to do your homework for you I swear I'll send a letter to your mom detailing what you do with Lavender in the Common Room every night."

Ginny giggled, her tiny voice joining Harry's guffaws.

Ron retailated by saying, "Hermione, I swear if I was the richest man in the wizarding world, the first thing I would buy would be a muzzle for you!"

Hermione spat, "Well, I could just shut you up permanently with my wand!" Her brown hair bounced angrily, but Harry decided she looked quite nice with some color in her cheeks. He certainly wouldn't want her to be that angry at him though, and he definitely wouldn't insult the girl he was asking to do his homework for him.

The volatile pair were now standing beside Ginny so it was easy for Harry to hear the venom in Hermione's voice. He had seen a girl talk that way to him barely fifteen minutes ago, so he was in no hurry to get yelled at himself.

Ron grinned suddenly. "What wand? Oh, this one, in my hand?" He had stolen it out of her pocket the moment she said wand. Harry rolled his eyes. This was not unlike the relationship he'd had with his neighbor in Surrey. She'd bust his balls, so he'd have to one up her, and then they would kiss and her Dad would try to beat him with a rake.

Hermione pinched him and he turned it loose immediately, allowing her to snatch it back. "That's what I thought." Harry imagined her saying 'bitch' afterward, and had to stifle a laugh at Ron's expense.

"You think too much!" Ron said, unnecessarily. The lanky boy was standing over the much shorter girl, his fists balled up and his tone distinctively angry.

"And what, exactly, is that supposed to mean?" Hermione's voice was soft and the conversation seemed to get very quiet all of a sudden. For a few seconds no one spoke, and Harry was considering begging the entire thing off claiming he was sick just so he didn't have to be a part of this stupid conversation. Luckily, Ginny took the initial ice breaker like a pro.

"What are you two bitching at again?" She looked at her fingernails, and wiped them on her robes, ignoring the appalled silence that was left in the wake of her comment. Harry tried not to laugh, but he couldn't help himself after catching the angry looks on Ron and Hermione's respective faces.

"We are not 'bitching', Ginny... and he started it!"

Her childish declaration caused Ron to raised his long arm, pointing one finger at Hermione and saying, "You're the one who started it!"

Again, Harry laughed; this time a little louder. Apparently this was the wrong thing to do, as his laughter seemed to further enrage Ron, who ignored Hermione in favor of aiming all his misplaced anger at Harry.

"And what the hell are you laughing at, Potter? Don't think I didn't see you in here feeling all over my sister."

Ginny spoke up, lambasting her brother. "He barely had his hands on my head, you idiot. Settle down before all of Hogwarts thinks I'm having sex with Harry."

"What do you mean you're having sex with Harry?" Ron yelled, having been unable to hear as he was scratching the inside of his very red ear through the first part.

Ginny punched him in the crotch and whispered, "Sit down. Shut up!"

Gingerly Ron made his way to the table and sat down, holding the area where he had been punched. Ginny stood up and flattened her robes, as her long, thin legs had been showing beneath them. She pointed at her brother before growling, "I'm not going to deal with him right now." Her neckline was red and she looked very flustered by what her brother had said. Harry took that to mean that she wanted to fuck his brains out. "I'm going to go back to the common room." Almost as an afterthought, she turned to Harry and added, "Hermione will tell you what you need to know, Harry."

Harry wasn't smiling as Ginny started to walk away. Inside he was raging at the fact that any conversation would lead to him being so thoroughly screwed. Not only was Ginny about to bail on him, she was also leaving him to her bossy older brother and his even bossier best friend. There was no way he would be able to think with the two of them fighting at every turn, much less teach a bunch of students. Eventually he would be caught in between it and that would wreck any chance he had to talk to girls.

"Ginny, please, hold on a sec. I don't think I'm going to be able to teach you guys."

Ginny looked hurt but only asked, "Why, Harry? You said you would help me..." She stood very close to him, with her big brown eyes pleading with him to reconsider. Despite himself, Harry sighed. He wanted to tell her to shove off, because he definitely didn't want to have to hear Hermione and Ron argue like cats and dogs, but he just couldn't phrase it without sounding like a complete arse.

Instead, he said, "And I will help you, but I really don't think I'm going to be able to teach unless you let me make the decisions on what you need to know about the subject. After all, I'm the teacher."

Hermione looked at him challengingly and said, "What do you mean? We already have a lot of notes, plenty of books and we know whats expected for their grades. I don't see a reason to change it." To emphasis this statement, she slapped her bag on the table and began pulling the notes out.

Harry waved her off. "That's not the problem, Hermione. You guys can read through the books all you want, but the only way I'll help is if you come to me, tell me what you want to learn, give me a little time to prepare, and let me teach it."

Ron objected. "Well, that's what we're doing now, aren't we?"

Harry thought Ron did have a point, but he verbally disagreed. "No, I'm going back to Ravenclaw to hang out with some friends. You guys can decide what you'd like to learn, come see me during the week, and I'll meet up with you at night to teach it. Its as simple as that. Seven to eight sounds good, then people can be back in their common rooms by curfew. I'll ask Flitwick if we can do it in his classroom since it is Charms study. He won't mind."

He stood, pushed his chair back and walked away with his head held high, ignoring the gasp of disapproval that came from Hermione. He wasn't planning on enjoying teaching, though he could only imagine what being one on one with a bunch of girls would be like, but at least he could be reassured by the knowledge that he was doing it on his own terms.

As he left the library he didn't see Hermione's mutinous look or Ron stand up wearily, relieved that they wouldn't have to go through the papers again. He also didn't see Ginny's delighted smile that everything was going according to plan.

"Ginny, what are you smiling at?"

Ginny knew that Hermione had just asked the question out of reflex, but the longer she thought about it, the more she felt like something important had just taken place. She had long ago decided to pursue Harry, and once she had Harry in the classroom with the other students she would be all over him and there was nothing anyone could say about it.

Not even her mother.

Her smile grew. "Oh, nothing. I'm just glad we could get that taken care of."

Hermione didn't smile. "I can't believe he just walked off like that. We had everything set up beforehand so he followed our schedules and he acts like he doesn't care either way as long as he can hang out with his friends by the end of it! He's just so..."

"Arrogant," Ron said, surprising them both. "He's arrogant and full of himself. I guess he knows his stuff so we'll give him the benefit of the doubt this time, but I swear if he lays one hand on your head, Ginny..."

"You'll what, argue with him until he gets so annoyed his brain explodes? I'm a big girl now Ron, I can take care of myself."

She walked away angrily, unexpectedly hurt by her brother's overprotective comment. Second year had been a fluke. There was no way that a man was ever going to hurt her like that again. Besides, Harry was the Boy Who Lived.

How bad of a wizard could he possibly be?


	2. Chapter Two

Potter, No Angst

Averis

Chapter Two - Truth and Woe/ Second Dilemma

A few weeks later, Harry was once again walking towards the dungeons. He had hastily prepared for the mock examination that was coming in less than ten minutes. Slughorn had declared that the class needed to be ready for anything, but in a Slug Club meeting he had let it slip that they would be preparing a marginally more effective but more time consuming version of Skele-Grow. Thanks to his relationship with the professor, all the research he was required to do was flip to the proper page in his text book and memorize the directions.

As he walked, he struck up a conversation with Luna Lovegood, a blonde, fifth year Ravenclaw girl who had taken to following him around during her free time. Rather than being sketched out by the girl who was wearing raddish earrings and had a strange habit of being remarkably truthful, he just let her tag along, as she often had something profound, or at the very least hilarious, to say.

"How was class this morning, Luna," he asked, idly walking around a group of Hufflepuffs who had stopped to gawk at two kissing sixth year students. Upon realizing that both were female, Harry bent down and took a while to tie his shoes. In the end they were rather sloppily tied, causing him to tie them a few more times before they would actually stick. Finally Harry gave it up, smiling at the groans from the male students as the two females noticed they had a crowd and began walking away.

Luna deadpanned, "Ghastly. Our ghostly presence professed his love for dwarven warfare and was a giant waste of a class period. I did overhear Orla Quirke talking about you though."

Harry wasn't one for idle gossip, but when it concerned him and a female, he was slightly more intrigued. He queried, "What did she say?"

Luna continued to walk for a minute or two without saying anything. The first few times she did this he had been annoyed, as he loathed being ignored, but he had learned over time that Luna was just thinking of a ridiculous way to phrase her comment rather than give up the information freely. She was one of the dirtiest mouths in Ravenclaw though she was very selective about what she said when others were around. In some ways her behavior was still an occasional annoyance, but he also appreciated her dedication to never be boring.

Finally she smiled and said, "Orla was orally debating an oral affixation on your organ. She's a quirky girl, a little on the thin side, but she does have juicy lips."

Harry had expected a similar comment so he did not immediately react. After a moment he said, "I wouldn't touch that girl. She's too embarrassed to talk to me anyway."

"Probably because you deflowered her cousin last year."

Harry wasn't sure who she was talking about but shrugged the comment off anyway. "She'll live. And Orla too." Looking down, he checked his watch and found that he had only a few minutes before Potions was set to begin. Walking a bit more quickly, he changed the subject. "What about you, Luna? Are you not interested in any boys?"

Luna giggled. "None of these guys have enough sense to see the real me. Besides, I've been trying to get you to sleep with me since third year and you still won't. Perhaps my breasts haven't developed enough yet, but I think they will in time. No point trying to wrangle up a suitor when I'm concentrating on you." She sniffed, but not in a melancholy way, it was more like she was actually smelling the stale dungeon air.

Harry waved her off, as he had already been informed of his good friend's interest. "You already know the deal. Once you're over of the age of consent I'll give it a shot if that's what you really want, but its a long time before your next birthday and I think you'd be better off with someone else in the meantime."

"It's only eight months and it's not like I'm going to tell anybody, or like they would believe me anyway. You could stuff me in the broom closet right now if you wanted to."

Harry paused in the hallway for a moment, considering his friend. She was quite beautiful if you looked past the dottiness she tried to so hard to project. She had dirty blonde hair that hung down to her waist in curls and a very pretty complexion that made him wonder just what she looked like underneath her oversized robes. He had of course thought about Luna at length, and could imagine them doing truly innovative things underneath his bedsheets, but in the end he decided that he valued her friendship too much to just take advantage of her even though she was the one begging for it.

"As much as fun as that sounds, I think I'll pass just this once, Luna."

She grinned. "So, next time I ask you'll have sex with me?"

Harry just waved her off with his left hand and entered the classroom without replying. Before he closed the door however, he chanced a look back at Luna and saw her licking her fingers delightedly.

He wasn't sure he wanted to know what she tasted on them.

"Potter, pass me the Nirnroot clippings," Pansy all but shouted. The rest of the class was busy at work and it was becoming quite loud in the Potion's classroom. Slughorn was on the other side of the class helping Daphne Greengrass, a Slytherin student who had dropped a bit too much wheatgrass into the mixture and was worried it might cause a bad reaction. As his professor was otherwise occupied, Harry felt that he could say whatever he wanted freely.

Draco was missing again and Pansy had chosen to sit beside Harry once more. This time she had been unwilling to tell him where Draco was, but he had correctly assumed that the blonde Slytherin had failed his Apparation test and had been asked to return to the Ministry of Magic again today. Pansy had been less than pleased when Harry laughed at Draco's expense.

"Here," he said, flicking a few clippings into her potion. "I'll save you the trouble."

She growled in response but didn't say anything else. He decided to annoy her further, dropping his wand underneath her purposely and then moving to retrieve it. As he did so, he intentionally bumped her stool, almost spilling her from it, and he grabbed her waist out of reflex so that she didn't fall. They went unnoticed as both of them were sitting at the back of the classroom again, so Harry held her a few moments longer than he should have.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, sounding anything but. "I, uh... dropped my wand."

Frustrated and becoming red with embarrassment, she shrugged his touch off, but not before Harry could feel the goosebumps running up and down her arm. Irritated, she said, "Will you please stop touching me every chance you get? You're like a child!"

Harry smiled and reached out one hand, poking her in the shoulder. "Boop," he said eloquently.

Pansy ignored him and returned to her work, though she was a lot messier than before and began cursing everytime she made a mistake. Harry had his potion well in hand, so he used most of his remaining time to watch Pansy.

Her black hair was pulled back into a long ponytail held in place by a large hair clip with a giant P engraved on it that looked very valuable. He knew Pansy's family was wrapped up in politics and that her father had been one of those men that weren't Death Eaters during the war but played both sides equally so that his himself and his family would profit. Harry didn't know enough about her mother to pass judgement, but he had heard Malfoy once claim that the Parkinson's had more house elves than even his family did. Harry assumed that Pansy's mother didn't have a career and that the two Parkinson females did not have to do much manual labor.

A look at her shaking hands confirmed this, as the nails were perfectly manicured (though short enough to allow her to do her Potion's work) and she did not have a single callous on her palms. It was while he was staring at her trembling digits that she noticed his attention was on her.

"What, what, what?" she snapped, slinging the diced whatever-it-was all over their workspace. He couldn't deny that he enjoyed the way her chest swayed as she became flustered and the way her lips pouted when she frowned.

Harry was going to say 'nothing', but at the last moment he decided to be a little more truthful. "I was just thinking that you had nice hands."

If she thought his comment was strange, she didn't let him know that. For a minute or two she just continued working, occasionally cutting her eyes to look at him, and then stop when he would return her furtive glance. Harry spent the time finishing up his potion, layering the potion with sliced bat wings and preparing to drop his minced aconite in the cauldron when she finally decided she would respond.

"I can't read you, Potter." she said, stopping everything she was doing and giving him her full attention. "I ask you not to bother me, you bother me more. I insult you, you say nice things completely out of the blue. You ask me about Draco, I lie to you, but you already know the truth anyway. Half the time you're making a play at me and I want to punch you in the face, the rest of it you're annoying me so bad I want to punch myself in the face. Why do you think you even have a chance?"

Harry laughed. Only a few people had spared them a glance and they soon turned back to their work as the examination time was almost up. Making sure everyone was still working, Harry turned to Pansy and said, "Look, just keep it down and keep working while we talk."

Surprisingly she only sneered at him for a moment before she continued making her potion. Harry took a moment to add the aconite and, without looking at Pansy, he spoke as calmy as he could. "I already told you that I like you, Pansy. I know you've never been intimate with Draco because you pretty much told me that yourself. I also know from the way Draco has been acting that you're not going to be reading his mind anytime soon even if you do one day have sex. I personally feel like you act so cold to me because you're afraid that I'm right, and that you really do want a relationship in your life that you've chosen based on your own opinion. I'm not just going to stop talking to you because you're supposed to be having an arranged marriage when you graduate."

Pansy didn't say anything as she was stirring her potion and needed to concentrate. After a few more moments she said, "You're trying way too hard to convince me, Potter. Really, what's in it for me if I did all of these things? Or, for that matter, what's in it for you? Why would you want a Pureblooded woman from a Dark family to be yours, knowing that at any point her parents could have you beaten and killed and that you would be responsible for wrecking one of the most profitable marriages in recent history." She sighed, and turned to Harry, looking him in the eyes for the first time. "I just want to know the brutal truth. Why are you so interested in me?"

Despite himself, Harry was becoming frustrated. He ran his hands through his hair and looked around the classroom. It looked like a few students were turning in their finished potions, and though his was almost ready, he didn't want to break up this conversation just yet.

If he said what was really on his mind he would get slapped. He asked himself what he saw in Pansy and his first thought was 'something different'. Without exception, every girl at Hogwarts had spoke kindly to him, whether it was to ask him on a date for their friend or just to thank him for eliminating Voldemort as a child, and yet Pansy was the only girl who had ever immediately discarded the notion of having him as a boyfriend. Sure, it was likely that Pansy being so close to Malfoy hadn't helped Harry's chances, but still he felt that if she could see through Malfoy's lies she could also see the good side of him.

He had seen Pansy on the ride to Hogwarts and she was just as excited to be there as everyone else. She had even sat in the same compartment as Susan Bones, who was Pureblood but also had Muggles and Muggleborn as close relations and certainly wasn't from a dark family. Harry knew that deep down, Pansy could not be as bad as she portrayed herself.

Still, that didn't explain why he was so wrapped up in her business. Maybe he was only attracted to her figure, which was admittedly the best he had seen outside of magazines they didn't carry at Hogwarts, or maybe he just felt sorry for her having a forced marriage with a numpty like Draco. All he was certain of was that he did care and though it might be for the wrong reasons, at the end of the day at least he gave a shit unlike her spoiled rotten significant other.

He was quiet too long apparently, because she asked him angrily, "Well? Are you going to say anything?"

Harry grabbed her hand firmly to help relay how serious he was. "I don't know why, Pansy, I just know that I am." She started to pull away but he wouldn't let her escape that easy. "I think its a few different things. One, as much fun as it has been kissing and telling, I'm not looking for a girl that's impressed by my name."

Pansy had stopped trying to retract her hand so he continued. "You are one of the only people that doesn't expect much from me; in fact, the only thing you expect is a clever lie and maybe an insult or two. For most people that would probably push them away, but for me that just means you're reading between the lines. I'm not as good as everyone seems to think, but I'm more intelligent than what they give me credit for. I do know how Purebloods tend to see things and don't you agree that your father would be pleased to have one of the most famous and rich people in the wizarding world courting his daughter?" He buffed his fingernails on his robes, drawing a dirty look from Pansy. "And no, I'm not talking about Draco."

Pansy opened her mouth to cut him off but he wouldn't let her. "It doesn't matter. I don't care what your father thinks either way, or give a damn whether he'd send Death Eaters or the entire fucking French Foreign Legion to track me down. He can sit and spin; the only opinion that matters to me is yours and regardless of whether you think what I say is true or not, I got you to listen this long, didn't I? That has to mean something."

Harry was breathing heavy, and he didn't really know where that sudden outburst had come from. Was he so angry at being the Boy Who Lived that he wanted to betray everything for this girl? He didn't like that thought; not at all. This was the longest conversation he and Pansy had ever had and he had pretty much declared he was in love with her. Harry's embarrassment continued as Pansy looked thoughtful.

The class period ended before she could say anything. Slughorn began calling for all finished potions and Harry placed the cork in his bottle and left the workspace, striding swiftly for Slughorn's desk and slamming the potion down a bit more soundly than he intended. Without looking at Pansy, who was still standing motionless where he had left her, Harry was one of the first people out the door and he headed for Ravenclaw tower like a shot.

As he walked he recalled the conversation he had just had, noting that he had put himself on the line without even getting so much as a 'I like you, Harry' in return. He couldn't decide whether he had made himself look a complete fool or a cassanova, but he knew that he had something strong hidden underneath his bed and he had a feeling that he would need it to sleep tonight.

Then he realized he had Prefect patrols that evening.

Bugger.

Harry's least favorite part of patrols was actually catching students in the act of doing something the professors would find reprehensible. Personally, he didn't care one way or the other who did what in whose whatsit or where it took place. After all, he had been guilty of far worse; he was just a lot better at keeping his less virtuous transgressions hidden. The first few times he had been allowed free reign after curfew he had actively searched for his fellow teenagers and even thought his new found authority exciting, but after his first run in with a young couple simply making out in a closet he had been forced to reconsider.

The Detention he smilingly assigned had been with McGonagall but the girl had cried for three days straight. As Harry later found out, her father and mother had intensely disliked the family of the boy she had been dating and sneaking out at night was the only way they could be together. When he had found them they had simply been kissing, fully-clothed, and seemed to truly be in love with eachother. Thanks to Harry's simple reprimand, the female Hufflepuff had been told not to see the Slytherin boy anymore or she would be pulled out of Hogwarts.

Needless to say, Harry rarely gave detention after that. He had taken points, which didn't have to immediately be reported to the Professors, and he had escorted students back to their dorms despite their most desperate pleas or the occasional attempted curse, but he was very selective about who he punished and for what reason.

On this particular evening Harry wasn't even bothering to track his fellow students. Instead, he walked aimlessly through the halls, ignoring the cat calls from the lively portraits and the multiple ink pellets shot at him by the resident poltergeist. His thoughts were unsurprisingly focused on Pansy, though he'd give anything to have a Penseive to store his memory of the conversation the two of them had earlier that day.

He certainly didn't fit the description of a hopeless romantic, longing for a girl who wouldn't give him the time of day, and yet the situation was such a lost cause he almost had to feel hopeless. What were the odds that he could make a girl from a strictly capitalistic background eagerly awaiting the fast track to fame and fortune give up on a betrothal arranged by her parents and based solely on cold, hard cash? He knew the chances were slim, and even if she did want to jump ship, the girl was probably a horrible choice for him anyway considering the multitude of better options he had at his disposal. If he was perfectly honest, he'd never been this affected by something he had said to a girl in his entire life, and yet he couldn't help feeling like he'd thrown himself under the Hogwarts Express for absolutely nothing. Someone was bound to have seen him in the Potions classroom as he had run out of the classroom with his face twisted in a knot, embarrassed, leaving Pansy behind.

Lust was an emotion he had been intimately familiar with on more than a few occasions but he couldn't shake the thought that this was more than just lust.

He really hoped it was just lust. It would make the situation so much easier.

As he came around a bend in the halls of Hogwarts he could hear the murmur of female voices. Harry had always been interested in what females had to say so he took off in the direction the voices had come from, listening closely. He was on the seventh floor now, fairly close to Gryffindor tower, and as he came closer he realized that the voices he had heard were Hermione Granger and, to his surprise and suddenly increasing interest, Ginny Weasley. He wasn't one to intrude on a private conversation but he couldn't help himself when he heard his own name mentioned.

"When should we ask Harry about teaching everyone? It has already been a few weeks and I'm sure he's expected us to come to him by now. I don't see why you keep putting it off, Ginny; you were the one that was so certain he could help you." Hermione whispered. Her voice still carried in the hall, owing to the high-domed ceilings and the thick stone walls, so Harry posted up against a suit of armour and kept as quiet as he could. In the darkness he smiled, feeling confident that he was about to hear some juicy gossip, or at the very least some interesting girl talk.

Ginny shook her head and turned away from Hermione. From his vantage point Harry could see her lightly freckled face, smiling at something neither one of the older students could see. "It won't be too much longer now. I just want to make sure he won't say no when I come to him."

Hermione joined Ginny in shaking her head. "The longer we take to go to him, the more likely he is to say no, Ginny. To be honest, I don't see why you need him to study in the first place."

Ginny turned where Harry could no longer see her face. "I know you don't hear it often, Hermione, but you're wrong. I've been watching him for years, and the longer it takes for a girl to ask him something, the more interested he becomes. He might say that he wants a girl to be forward, but he really wants her to bide her time and do something out of the ordinary."

Harry chuckled to himself at Ginny's estimation of him; apparently he had been right on the money about her initial intentions. He had correctly assumed that Ginny was trying to ask him out this whole time but he didn't think she had put a ton of planning into it. He certainly didn't appreciate her inaccurate evaluation of him, as he really did prefer girls to say what they wanted, but at least he had been proven right in the end. Maybe this teaching thing wasn't such a bad idea after all, especially if it could take his mind off of his Slytherin nemesis and Draco's smoking hot fiancee.

Hermione was less than amused. "Why do you care what he wants? He's always lying to girls, telling them exactly what they want to hear. Don't you think you deserve better than a cheating, conniving, swindling..."

Ginny waved her off, looking from Harry's position like she was a little angry at her friend. Her voice was disbelieving. "Oh, please spare me. Who did he cheat on and who has he lied to?"

Hermione told her, counting each name with the fingers on her right hand. Her bushy hair bobbed as she counted them off. "Aurelia Quirke. Jennifer Stalworth. Karen White. Sandra Sampson. Parvati Patil."

Harry chuckled to himself when Parvati was mentioned. She had accompanied him to a ball in fourth year and he had totally blew it when he was caught kissing a girl named Katie something. The memory was a fond one for him but Parvati still hated him with a passion.

Ginny waved her off again, though she didn't seem to be as angry anymore. After a moment Hermione continued, this time using her left hand as well. "Hannah Abbott. Allie Coston. Laura Lines. He even lied to Jennifer Stalworth twice!" Hermione stamped her foot. "I don't understand why you think he's worthy of your affections when he doesn't even have feelings!"

Harry, rather than be hurt by what she said, found it extremely funny that she had mentioned Jennifer Stalworth. He had originally thought the girl was an attractive, intelligent conversationalist, but she had a snaggletooth and tended to chew on her lip in such a way that everyone noticed it. It wasn't hideous, in fact, he didn't mind at all, but he had kissed the girl once and when their teeth clicked she had cut his lip so badly that she accidentally swallowed some of his blood in the process.

A few days later she had gone as far as announcing to the entire common room that Harry was hers and all other ladies need not apply. When he had avoided her at every meal starting the next day, she had thrown a tantrum so loud that he was still getting ribbed for it by his friends.

To make things worse, the second time around came a couple of months later when he was dating Laura. The blonde Hufflepuff seventh year had been one of his shortest flings, but also one of his most rewarding. The girl was not at all shy about what she could do behind closed doors and her personal feud with Jennifer had caused Harry to happily volunteer to embarrass the girl. No one knew he was seeing Laura at the time, so he simply asked Jennifer on another date, promising her that he would make up for his past behavior at Hogsmeade the next morning. She was so excited that she told all of friends to meet her in Three Broomsticks to see them together, yet Harry spent that afternoon and much of the evening in Laura's dorm alternating between laughing at Jennifer's expense and rolling Laura over for another romp under the covers.

Harry and Jennifer didn't speak much these days. Partly because of the Hogsmeade episode, but mostly because she was too busy clicking teeth with everybody that wasn't him. Of course, Hermione had forgotten to mention that part of the equation.

Ginny ignored Hermione in favor of looking out one of the stained-glass windows lining the hallway. It was after midnight now and a cursory glance at his watch revealed that the end of his patrol was fast approaching.

"You don't understand, Hermione. One day you'll meet a guy and just have this feeling that he's the perfect one for you, and no matter what anyone says, at the end of the day he's the one that you want beside you. I don't care that he's been with other girls as long as he's faithful to me and I honestly think he's changed. You haven't noticed him treating anyone like that this year, have you?"

Harry could tell that Hermione wanted to disagree with her but she couldn't. To compensate for her lack of evidence against Harry she spat, "Honestly Ginny, I haven't, but I'm not the one that spends every free moment tracking him around the castle, hoping that he'll talk to me so I can wrap him up in a lie of my own!"

Ginny whipped around so quick her robes billowed like Snape's did during class. "What lie? I haven't lied to anyone!"

Harry thought it was interesting that she didn't deny she had been following him but he didn't have time to dwell on it.

Hermione stepped closer to Ginny, seemingly ignorant of the growing color in Ginny's cheeks. She said heatedly, "You are only trying to get him in that classroom so you can compliment him on his teaching and get your foot in the door! Nevermind the fact that you're one of the best Charms students in your year and you have a best friend and a brother that have already taken the bloody class!"

Ginny scoffed. "Best friends would be supportive!"

Hermione did disagree this time. "Best friends would tell you the honest truth no matter how you feel about it! Harry Potter does not have your best interest at heart, and he will tear yours out and stomp on it just like he did mine!"

All three of the students look surprised, though Hermione's was more mortified than anything else. Her mouth hung open the same way Harry's did and she clapped both hands over her mouth as soon as she had said it. Of all the girls in the school, Harry had assumed Hermione had no interest in him. Now it seemed like she had been hiding some kind of feelings about him for long time, and judging by her expression, Hermione had planned on hiding them permanently. Ginny's amazement was slowly fading into comprehension, as if some long-standing problem had just been solved. Hermione's face was paling rapidly, apparently due to the fact she had just accidentally told her best friend she had her eye on Harry.

To Harry's further surprise, he was unabashedly aroused by the thought.

For a long time no one said anything, and Harry's breath was the only sound he could hear in the hallway. At long last, Ginny opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come out. Hermione reached for her friend, but Ginny shrugged off her hand and fled, striding towards Gryffindor tower. She rounded a corner and Harry could hear her scream a password at the Fat Lady moments before silence reigned in the hallway once more.

Harry couldn't see Hermione's face at first, as she had turned to watch her best friend walk away from her, but when she did turn around he could easily tell that she was crying. Without a word she strode directly past him, presumably to finish her rounds, but she never noticed him crouching beside the same suit of armor he had leaned against during Hermione and Ginny's conversation. He did not see Hermione return because he didn't stick around and he certainly wasn't going to look for her.

When he started his patrol he had hoped to clear his mind of one girl. Instead, he had simply replaced her with two, one of which he had never even considered before.

As he walked back towards Ravenclaw, he sighed and shook his head. He had a feeling Ron Weasley wasn't going to like him at all after this.


	3. Chapter Three

Potter, No Angst

Averis

Chapter Three: My Aching Head Games/Shot to the Heart

Harry woke with a start, having had a restless night and feeling more than a little hungover. Upon returning to the common room after one in the morning, he had immediately popped the cork from the bottle of Ogden's he had been hiding for nigh on three semesters and, without even a grimace at the dry taste, he had pounded a few shots. He wasn't a liberal drinker, but he dealt with his conflicting emotions the best way he could under the circumstances. His aching head took some time to come to grips with the sunlight streaming through the window closest to him, and it took him quite a while longer to realize that the conversation between Hermione and Ginny had not been a dream.

He looked at his watch and frowned. He had three classes with Gryffindor over the next few hours, one of which was set to commence in less than twenty minutes. With a gasp he shot from the bed, tripping over his sheets as he struggled to untangle himself from them. As quickly as he could he grabbed his clothes, used magic to set his toothbrush to work, and hurried to get himself dressed. In a rush, he ran his fingers through his hair a few times and spared only a moment to check himself in the mirror, finding himself to be satisfactory by Hogwarts standards if not by his own. He banished his things back to their proper places and escaped his room, running down the stairs while tightening the tie around his neck.

Luna was waiting for him, her tiny face as serene as ever and her eyes glancing up at him knowingly. Harry spared her a tight smile and she joined him on his swift walk towards the Transfiguration classroom. After ten or twenty metres she asked him a question that took him completely off-guard. "What did Hermione say last night?"

Really he shouldn't have been surprised. Luna had a knack for knowing things that no one else did, and even the most tight-lipped Ravenclaw had been undone by her questioning eyes. Annoying as it was, Harry had chosen to just tell her the truth the first time rather than lie and risk being exposed in the most embarrassing way possible. He could still remember telling her he had been visiting Hagrid, only to have her explain in detail his first tryst with Aurelia Quirke, while her actual boyfriend stood not ten feet away.

His cheek ached just thinking about it, and with his brain still bothered by the alcohol from the last night, he didn't care to deal with any more head games.

"Believe it or not, she's got some kind of crush on me, I just never noticed it before. Ginny was arguing with her about how quickly they should ask me to tutor them and it got a little bit heated when Hermione started naming off girls I had lied to. Ginny ignored her in favor of saying I'm perfect for her-"

"Bullshit," Luna said, feigning jealousy. "You're perfect for me!" Harry just gave her a bored look in return, drawing her laughter.

"Anyway," Harry continued. "Long story short, Hermione accused Ginny of following me around the castle and wrapping me up in a lie, which is probably true considering she's a good Charms student and Hermione's at least as smart as me and twice as patient. Ginny said she should be supportive, Hermione said she should tell the truth, and in the same breath accidentally told on herself. It was a nightmare."

Luna laughed again, but as they were approaching the classroom door, she turned suddenly serious. "You're going to be so screwed today." She had summed up his opinion quite thoroughly but Harry didn't have time to reply as the bell rang while he was standing right outside the door. The best he could do was raise his eyebrows and grunt in agreement before he entered the classroom. He could hear Luna's lilting laughter as he closed the door and faced his angry Professor.

"I have told you time and time again, Mr. Potter," she said with her stern Scottish accent. "Do not be late for my class, and yet it is still a regular occurance for you, and you are only adding insult to injury by looking like you just woke up!" Fortunately, Harry didn't mention that he really had just crawled out of bed. His Professor continued, building up a head of steam, her tirade rising in volume. "What do you have to say for yourself this time?"

Harry smiled at his teacher, going as far as to touch her lightly on the forearm. Rather than recoil in disgust, her angry countenance faded somewhat. Harry simply said, "I'm sorry, Professor. I had patrols last night and woke up after breakfast had ended."

McGonagall looked like she wanted to thrash him but her softer side won out in the end. "Do not let it happen again, Potter, or you will be doing detention with Professor Snape, and I promise you he will not be as lenient as I. Are we clear?"

Harry kept a forlorn expression and nodded his consent though he inwardly smiled. The Gryffindor Head of House was appallingly easy to manipulate, especially when your parents had been some of her best students. He imagined he could slay a Griffin in her classroom and still get off with only having to scrub the floor.

Harry could see Ron Weasley jeering him for almost getting detention, but he ignored him until the Professor asked him to take a seat. Harry took the only empty desk, quickly taking his text from his bag and turning to the page noted on the board. It was only after he had been sitting down for a minute that he realized he had coupled with Hermione for the duration of the class. He mentally slapped himself for not noticing sooner and struggled to keep a straight face around the Gryffindor girl. It didn't help matters when he noticed she had applied make up and fixed her hair that morning.

He smiled at her when she greeted him as a friend, and her pretty blush confirmed that what she had said the previous evening was still very much in effect. He couldn't resist egging her on a bit, and once McGonagall had announced that they were to practice turning their off-hand into an eagle claw, something they had been doing for the last few class periods and very few people had mastered, Harry struck up a light conversation with Hermione.

"How are you this morning, Hermione?"

Usually he didn't talk to her very often, so the surprised face she made wasn't entirely unexpected. After a moment or two of continuing with her Transfiguration she turned her attention to him. "I'm fine, I guess. What about you?"

"Honestly? My head is throbbing. I kind of overdid it during rounds last night."

Hermione nodded, looking thoughtful. "What part of the school did you cover? You had the sixth and seventh floor, right?"

Harry nodded, mentally applauding her memory. They had only barely touched on one another's patrol areas two weeks ago when Cho Chang was handing them out. Harry could scarcely remember his own schedule and it was posted next to his bed for easy reference.

"Wow," he said, flexing his distinctly claw-like but not fully-transfigured left hand. "You got a brain on you. I care so little I can barely remember where I was last night."

She scrunched her face up at his terrible grammar, but thanked him for the compliment anyway. "Thank you. It's important that we patrol the school the entire time though. You never know what kind of trouble lurks around the corner and its not right for the younger students to be out alone at night."

Harry neglected to mention that as a first year he had unexpectedly found a cerberus on the third floor. He also didn't mention that he had caught her hanging out in his patrol area having an argument with her friend who wasn't a prefect. After all, gloating would be bad form.

Instead, Harry said, "I know you're right. I try to take it serious because I've found plenty of people out of bounds, but some nights it just seems pointless. A lot of times I just post up near the closest common room and try to catch students on their way back."

Hermione didn't say anything for a long time and Harry almost laughed out loud at the implications of his off-handed comment. She had to turn away to hide her embarrassment, and he could tell that she had put two and two together, but he knew that she couldn't be sure whether he had heard their conversation or not. Maybe he was getting too much enjoyment out of having the upper hand, but then again, it was rare that anyone got the upper hand on Hermione so he might as well savor the occasion.

At long last she recovered enough to say, "That's an... efficient way to do it." Her face and neck were still a little red, but her friend saved her further embarrassment from Harry by butting in unnecessarily.

"Potter," Ron said by way of greeting. He didn't seem thrilled that Harry had chosen to sit by Hermione, despite the fact that Ron could have easily sat there himself when he had the chance. "You two are getting awfully cosy," he observed, addressing Harry more than Hermione. "What? Are you tired of chasing every slag in school and now you want a real woman?" The back-handed compliment was almost as welcome as a turd in the punch bowl.

Rather than hurt her feelings as Harry had expected, Hermione turned around in her chair and merely flicked her wand once, turning his mouth into a flawlessly transfigured bird beak. Just as quickly she reversed her spell, causing Ron to involuntarily squawk and then gasp for breath. Seamus, who was sitting to the left of Ron, burst out laughing and nearly fell off his chair.

"What the bloody hell?" Ron exclaimed, standing up and pointing his wand at Hermione. The entire class went silent and everyone's heads turned to see the disruption caused by Ron.

"Ron Weasley!" Professor McGonagall screeched. "What do you think you're doing?"

Hermione continued to work on her transfiguration, admiring her left hand, and the fingers which had elongated into sharp talons. She refused to pay any attention to Ron, who was still foolishly pointing his wand at the back of her head.

"She started it!" Ron whined before he could catch himself. After another tense moment he lowered both his wand and his head. Harry wondered to himself if Ron could already hear the chewing out his mother would later be sending him in the form of a Howler. "Sorry, ma'am," he muttered while looking down at his desk and his piss poor attempt at self-transfiguration.

"Sorry does not cut it, Mr. Weasley!" McGonagall said, livid after his cursing outburst. "You will serve detention with Mr. Filch on Friday."

Once her punishment had set in for a second, Ron cried foul. "But Professor, we have a game against Ravenclaw on Friday!"

His head of house had no such worries. "I am well aware what Friday is Mr. Weasley, and you will leave my classroom right now or you won't play Quidditch for the rest of this season!" Her anger pulsated through the classroom, and as Ron grabbed his things and left morosely, Harry couldn't decide whether to hide from her wrath or squeal in joy at his luck. Not only would he be able to slide a ton of Quaffles past the Gryffindor reserve keeper, a seventh year named Cormen McClagger or something, he would also be able to talk to Hermione as much as he wanted to for the next half hour.

After things had settled down, Harry turned to Hermione and said very slowly, "You are brilliant."

She didn't say a word, but he could see her smile underneath her bushy hair as she worked. A few seconds later, Harry tapped her on the shoulder and gave her an encouraging grin. "And he's absolutely wrong about me, you know? I've done my fair share of bad, I'll be the first one to tell you that, but I would never ask you to do something you didn't want to do."

"I know that, Harry," she said immediately. "He's just being an over-protective jerk."

Harry waved her off. "He just likes you and doesn't want anybody else to get involved." He shrugged. "I'm not surprised. What's not to like?"

Hermione looked at him and smiled, something that was a rarity in itself and made her look a lot more attractive. Harry found himself smiling back without even trying.

"You really think so?" Hermione said, looking hopeful. Harry hoped she wasn't talking about Ron, but he ignored that in favor of complimenting her some more.

"Yeah! You're great. Pretty, witty, top of the class in almost everything, great conversation, the whole schabang. I have half a mind to ask you on a date myself!"

Hermione's smile grew, but then her face paled. Harry could almost see the wheels in her head turning. She was caught between wanting him for herself, dealing with one of her friend's unwanted interest, and trying to hook up her best friend at the same time.

"Thank you," she said, looking like she had something sour on her tongue. "But I'm not really looking for a relationship right now."

Harry continued smiling, seeing right through her lie. "That's too bad," he said, shaking his head ruefully. "Maybe we can just hang out as friends sometime?"

Hermione nodded. "I think I would like that." Then she added. "As friends, of course."

Harry agreed amicably, going as far as to say, "Well, we are all going to Hogsmeade this weekend, right? Why don't we meet up somewhere and hang out for a little while? I'm sure you already have plans with your friends, but I think it would be nice to get to know you a little better."

She looked hesistant, but she covered it up by reversing the transfiguration on her hand. "That would be fine," she said softly. "What did you have in mind?"

Harry could think of quite a few things but he didn't think she was that flexible. "How about the Three Broomsticks for lunch? I'll buy."

Hermione bit her lip, still showing a bit of hesistancy. "Do you think it would be too much trouble if a few of my friends came?" Harry was slow to react as he was flexing his own newly-restored hand. "Not Ron, or anything, but maybe Ginny and a few others."

Harry assumed she meant just Ginny so he shook his head. "I really don't mind, but I've heard Ginny follows me around the school like a puppy and I think this teaching thing is some elaborate plan for her to get me to ask her out." Hermione's sudden smile confirmed this belief, though Ginny had as much as admitted to it the previous night. "Ron, was right about one thing though."

Hermione caught his eye and asked, "What do you mean?"

Harry took off his glasses, wiping them with the bottom of his robes. With care, he replaced them on his face before he fixed Hermione with a serious stare as he could while surrounded by students turning themselves into birds. "I do want a real woman. I'm sick of girls that play games and won't just say how they really feel. If Ginny wanted to date me, why not just ask me out?"

Hermione stuck up for her friend as she was a true Gryffindor despite the conflict between the two girls. "Well, she probably feels like she needs to impress you to even have a chance. You know she really thinks a lot of you."

McGonagall was helping Parvati, who had somehow accidentally transfigured her hand into a block of ice and was chattering her teeth together so badly that she couldn't say the counter-curse. Finding his Professor occupied, Harry transfigured his own hand into a rabbit's foot, swatting Hermione lightly and causing her to giggle uncharacteristically.

"I don't think very much of her or her brother to be honest with you. I'm sure she's a good friend and all," he rushed to assure her after Hermione made a face, "but if she thinks she needs to concoct some hare-brained scheme just to get me interested, then I already know she's not worth my time."

Hermione nodded, seeing the reason in his statement. "That makes sense I guess. It is pretty silly for her to put a whole study group together just to get you one on one when she could just ask you to Hogsmeade."

Harry sighed. "Please don't tell her I said that though. I don't want to go with her to Hogsmeade in the first place." At her smile, he added, "I'd much rather go with you."

Harry thought she might be on the verge of saying yes, but still she resisted. "How about this? I'll think about it and I'll let you know before Saturday. Okay?"

"Sounds good," he said, though it really didn't. He couldn't understand why she wouldn't just say yes after her late night declaration, no matter how accidental it was. Harry was left feeling kind of let down by the whole conversation. "Just let me know," he finished lamely.

The bell rang a few moments later and Hermione quickly gathered her things. Harry used a spell to put his stuff in his bag and stood at the same time as her. Hermione wished him a good day distractedly, to which he said happily, "Hey, Hermione!"

Flustered, she looked up, a questioning look on her face.

"You know we have class together all day, right?"

He followed the other students out before she could say anything. He wasn't going to let her forget her promise, and her reticence to hurt her friends just made him more determined to get an answer out of her by the end of the day.

Harry learned quite a few things about Hermione that day, and he took every opportunity to divulge a little more information from the quiet Gryffindor girl. First and foremost amongst those details was her ritualistic use of the library as a place to get away from the daily bustle of Hogwarts. The two sixth years were now hidden in an office that, according to Hermione's seemingly endless wealth of knowledge, had once belonged to the first librarian at Hogwarts in 1235 AD.

Harry had to hand it to Hermione; as far as he could tell, no other student had touched this part of the library in hundreds of years. To Harry it was just another secluded room in the sprawling castle, quite a bit smaller than a classroom but supplied with good lighting, a massive oak desk and two very squishy and comfortable chairs. On the other hand, Hermione declared it the ultimate study and her best place to get away from her over-bearing friends when she needed time alone. Harry had not over-looked the significance of being the first person to join Hermione in what was, for all intents and purposes, her own office.

Once McGonagall's class had ended earlier that day, Hermione had dragged him down the hall towards the next class, making absolutely no effort to answer her best friend's questions as to where they were going and what the hell they were going so bloody fast for. She had flat out refused to sit anywhere near Ron despite his best efforts to encroach on their privacy, and Harry had been happy to accompany her for the rest of the day.

As he expected, Hermione had discussed their classes at length, and in the process each had picked up a number of valuable facts that they hadn't known previously. At one point Hermione had remarked that she hated Divination with Sybill Trelawney so much that she intentionally broke one of her precious crystal balls and stormed out of class, resulting in her first and only detention in her time at Hogwarts. Her pride in herself for dropping that class was readily apparent, so Harry had quickly assured her that he would have done the same thing had he ever deigned to take the class in the first place. He had heard from more than one student in Ravenclaw that Trelawney was batty, smelled like she bathed in sherry, and had a penchant for predicting untimely deaths for students she didn't like.

Harry's past was a well-known but troublesome topic so he wasn't surprised that they didn't discuss it that first day, but Hermione didn't mind telling him all about her own, much happier past. As they sat down together in that office, sipping tea that had been eagerly provided by a house elf named Bruno, Harry prodded Hermione to talk about her parents.

"Well," she said, after taking a moment to arrange her thoughts while consuming the warm tea, "My mother and father are both dentists at a practice in London so its easy to see why my teeth are so clean." She smiled, showing them off, and Harry returned it immediately. He noted that the longer he spoke with her, the more she seemed to open up to him.

"Let me guess," Harry said, ignoring his own tea. "They met in Medical School and married soon after, having you within the year." It seemed like the up-bringing a girl like Hermione would be accustomed to and she would probably expect the same type of fairy-tale ending for herself one day.

Hermione rolled her eyes, surprising him. "Actually they weren't even married when I was, pardon my french, conceived. My father's mother absolutely abhored my mother and wouldn't support the marriage that they had been intending to pursue. So, the two of them conspired together and decided that they would go ahead and have a baby since they knew that they could afford it and were madly, deeply in love." She smiled at her own story. "Of course, Grandmother Granger encouraged them to get married soon after."

Harry laughed. "I can only imagine. Is she as harsh as she sounds?"

Hermione nodded. "Harsher, if you can believe. She makes Ron and Ginny's mum look calm and collected."

Harry smiled as she continued to talk about her Grandmother. Apparently she had raised Hermione's father by herself and though she had hated Hermione's mother with a passion, now that Hermione was a teenager the three of them would often take a few days to themselves during the summer so that they could relax in her cottage somewhere in Edinburgh. Once there was a momentary lull in the conversation, Harry decided to steer the exchange in a different direction.

While Hermione took a long drink of her tea, Harry said, "I probably shouldn't, but do you mind if I ask you a question?"

Hermione just waved her hand, urging him to spit it out. "Well, these last few days I've seen you spending a lot less time with Ginny, and you're outright avoiding Ron at every turn. I can understand getting away from Ron, as he obviously doesn't approve of us hanging out together and he's being an idiot about it, but I guess what I'm trying to ask is what's wrong between you and Ginny?"

Hermione's tea must have been cold because she made a sour face and put the cup back on the desk. She looked at Harry and shook her head. "Its kind of personal and its my fault. I said something I didn't mean to say and she hasn't spoken to me since."

Harry already knew what she had said, but he wasn't completely sure how Ginny reacted to the news. He figured it couldn't hurt to pry a little bit. "What did you say? If you don't mind me asking."

Hermione gave him a long hard look and Harry began to think that maybe he had pried too much. As quick as he could, Harry apologized. "I'm sorry, Hermione. You don't have to answer. I was just wondering what would have happened to make three best friends hardly even speak to eachother anymore."

"You," Hermione said, wincing after she said it. "I mean, not that it's your fault!" She hastened to inform him that it wasn't his problem and that he shouldn't take any of it to heart. Despite her attempt at convincing him he wasn't responsible, he would have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to see the evidence to the contrary.

"I figured that," Harry said, running his hands through his hair. "Look, if you would rather have everything back to normal I definitely understand. Not to sound like a sad sack, but most of my best friends already graduated so I don't really have to worry about stepping on their toes anymore. But you," he said, pointing at Hermione, "need to fix this thing before it gets worse and I don't want to break up a six year friendship just by asking you on a date."

Hermione looked like she wanted to object but she relented. "I know you're right, Harry. I do need to fix it before its too late, but I'm not going to stop being friends with you just to suit them. You haven't been anything less than a gentleman, and Ron's being a right prat for no reason."

Harry knew the reason as well as he knew his own last name, but he didn't want to tell her that. "Well, I just don't want to start trouble."

Hermione stood up, her hair becoming as frazzled as her appearance. "Well, I do! I'm sick of catering to their expectations just because they think I'm some little bookworm who is supposed to do their homework for them, clean up after their mistakes and just hop right into their family tree when I turn seventeen!"

Harry knew that she wasn't in the same betrothal situation as Pansy, but that didn't mean that a relationship with Ron wasn't expected of her by the two youngest Weasleys. In Harry's honest opinion, Hermione would be much better off with someone who could relate to her above-average intelligence, could actually show respect to a woman, and wouldn't mind being put in his place every now and again.

Hermione was still seething, so Harry made a solemn attempt to placate her. "C'mon, Hermione. I bet they don't think of you like that!"

"Harry, Ron literally just asked me at lunch if I would help him with the essay part of his homework and the reason Ginny won't talk to me is because..."

She trailed off, leaving the comment hanging, but Harry finished it for her. "Because I'm hanging out with you and she wants to be in your place. I get it, really, but I'm not interested, I never will be, and you can tell her that!"

Hermione shook her head. "The whole time I've known her, all she has ever talked about is 'the great Harry Potter'. She's not just going to accept that you're not interested, and she's certainly not going to let up just because I tell her that. She already thinks that I want you for myself!"

Harry stood up and started to make his way around the desk towards Hermione. "And you don't?"

Hermione looked confused, and a little apprehensive at the way Harry was looking at her. "Don't what?"

"You don't want me for yourself?" She blanched, so Harry tried a different tack. "You're amazing, Hermione. Fine as Elderberry wine and twice as intoxicating."

She laughed a little, so he continued. "Seriously, you are gorgeous; I've already told you that before. You treat everyone with respect, and don't think for a minute that I didn't see how worried you were about that house elf that brought us the tea. Even if you weren't the smartest girl in the school you would be a catch worth bragging about for every guy at Hogwarts, and if that little red-headed friend of yours ever gets his brain out of his anal cavity he'd recognize it too."

The mirth showed in her eyes, and she was red-faced and smiling, so Harry figured complimenting her must have done the trick. "I swear to you, Hermione, I would be lucky to be able to go to Hogsmeade with you, and if we weren't in school I would ask you out to Diagon Alley or even Muggle London, but I would never try to cause trouble between you and your friends and I certainly don't want to make life hard for you by forcing you to choose."

Hermione didn't say anything so Harry slowly made his way back around the desk and took a seat, letting her get her thoughts together. For a long time she stared at her now cold tea, and Harry began to wonder if maybe she did pick up some talent for Divination from her ex-Professor. Finally, she stood up and joined him on the other side of the desk, placing one hand on his shoulder.

He had been monitoring his worn out trainers so he jumped when she touched him. She looked him in the eyes and smiled. "Harry, you have not made my life hard, if anything you just made the choice easier. I would love to go to Hogsmeade with you, and not as friends either."

He matched her smile in a flash, but he had to ask her just to be sure. "Is this what you really want, Hermione?"

"More than anything," she said without delay. She blurted, "I've had a crush on you since fourth year! Of course, that took a hit when I found out what you did that night."

Harry chuckled. "I wasn't particularly gentlemanly that evening, was I? Although to be fair, I didn't know that Katie was going to kiss me either."

Hermione slapped him on the shoulder, but her big smile didn't budge. "Enough about that. Tell me what we're going to be doing on Saturday."

Harry was silent for a moment, scratching his chin as if in deep thought, but then he smiled mischeivously and encircled Hermione in his arms gently, pulling her just a little bit closer. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment, but their eyes met and Harry wasn't deterred from what he was about to do.

"With a little luck, a lot of this."

Their lips came together softly, and they shared their first kiss in the dusty old office. Harry was only slightly disappointed when Hermione broke away a few moments later, having met his tongue only momentarily before pulling back. Still, both of them were breathless after their excellent first kiss.

For a few minutes Harry continued to hold her loosely, enjoying the feel of her warm body pressed against his chest. Eventually Hermione stood straight and he released her, though both of them still looked delighted by what had just occurred. She walked back to the front of the desk and Harry noted the bounce in her step with a snigger that she didn't hear.

As Harry and Hermione continued to talk quietly, exploring their new relationship and enjoying eachother's company, they didn't notice the dark skinned figure lurking outside the office door. She stood, nearly bursting with anticipation, and her smirk stretched across her lovely face making her seem far more devious than she would normally be capable of.

At long last, Parvati Patil had some juicy gossip to get her revenge on Harry Potter, and as she walked out the library towards Gryffindor tower, she knew just who she would tell first.


	4. Chapter Four

Potter, No Angst

Averis

Chapter Four: Angst and Rebellion/ Third Dilemma

"What do you mean they were in the library together?"

Ginny Weasley was approaching hysterical as she leaned heavily against her four-poster bed in Gryffindor tower. Her long eyelashes were brimming with tears as she stared disconsolately at Parvati, who was kindly informing the redheaded girl what had just taken place between Harry and Hermione in the library.

"I mean they were locked away in some dingy office for hours talking about you and macking on each other!" Parvati could barely contain herself she was so excited. "She said something about how you thought he was 'the great Harry Potter' and he said he wasn't interested and never would be!"

"What?" she yelled, angry beyond reason. "She kept pushing me to talk to him this whole time, and she was just plotting to steal him as soon as I turned my back!" She punched the bed, howling in misery. "I can't believe this!"

"Believe it, sister," Parvati said with relish. "She's been out to get Harry since the very beginning."

"But she kept telling me she didn't understand why I wanted to be with him. I knew she thought he was handsome, I mean, everybody thinks he's handsome, but she never said she wanted him for herself! She kept putting him down and saying I deserved better!" Then she recalled the late night conversation they had held and she gasped. She slapped herself in the forehead, and ignored the red mark that appeared shortly after. "Until the other night I had no idea she even liked him!"

Parvati didn't know what night she was talking about, and if she was perfectly honest, she didn't care one way or the other. The only concern she had was that Ginny's reaction might get out of hand, and that was exactly what she wanted. It would serve Potter right to have bats flying out of his nose.

Ginny wanted to scream in outrage; the shocking betrayal at the hands of her best friend was almost too much for her teenage heart to take, and to Parvati's slight distaste, the younger girl started blubbering as she talked. "Wh-why would Hermione d-do this to me, though?" Her voice broke shamefully, and she hiccupped, drawing a little sigh from one of the girls in the corner of the room.

"Because Hermione Granger has always been out for herself," said Romilda Vane, feigning distinterest. "And its Potter we're talking about here. What did you expect him to do when she started kissing him, run out of the room crying?"

Parvati nodded at her rhetorical question. "She's right. You already know what he did to me. I just can't believe Hermione would stoop so low."

Romilda rolled her eyes. "You know why, Parvati. He's rich, famous, charming, handsome, the works. All of us have had our eye on him at one time or another." Then she looked down at Ginny, who looked ready to open the window leading out of Gryffindor tower and test her resolve. "And it looks like some of us still do," Romilda finished.

"Shut up," screeched Ginny, her neck becoming as red as her wild hair. "You don't know how I feel!"

Parvati tutted, wagging a finger at her friend. "Remember, we do know how you feel."

Romilda simpered, "Yeah, sugar. You feel like screaming, storming out of here and smashing their little kissing heads together!"

If Parvati and Romilda thought this was going to settle their friend they were sadly mistaken. Ginny shot from the floor and began pacing back and forth, whipping her wand to and fro as she walked. Parvati began to inch her way back towards the door as the magic dancing from Ginny's wand started looking decidedly dark in nature.

Romilda threw her sheet off of her and rolled to the floor, screaming at Ginny, "Don't do anything crazy, girl!" Noting that Ginny was unresponsive, she dropped all pretense and made a mad dash for the exit, the rollers pinned in her hair coming free and making a wet slap on the suddenly soaked carpet.

Ginny turned to her friends, who were cowering in the doorway and begging her to calm down, and yelled, "You don't know how I feel! My best friend just took my one true love away from me!" She swung her wand around, ignoring the two girls who were standing wide-eyed and wet with astonished looks on their faces, and screamed, "This isn't fair! This wasn't part of the plan!" Instead of attacking them, Ginny banished her bed at the wall, cracking the plaster and nearly decapitating Romilda's pet feline, who squealed and ran, skittering across the rapidly flooding dorm room.

Romilda turned to Parvati. She mouthed, "We need to leave. Now."

Parvati ran her fingers through her wet hair. "Okay," she whispered, and shooed her friend to the door. Romilda didn't hesistate; she was through the door before Parvati could turn to Ginny to say, "You're going to be alright, Ginny!"

Then Parvati slid through the door, just as a wave of water smashed against it slamming it behind her. Lavender stood at the top of the stairs, eyeing the two girls with confusion. "What the hell happened to you two," she asked. She threw up her hands at their appearance. "You're soaking wet!"

Romilda didn't look happy about it either. "Ginny threw a damn tantrum in there and we had to run for cover!" Romilda wringed her long hair as Parvati leaned her head over to get the water out of her ear. "I bet my bloody homework is ruined. Three feet on Love Potions gone to shit!"

"But why was Ginny so mad in the first place? She seemed fine when she came up here earlier." Lavender took a step back when Parvati and Romilda both jumped to explain the situation.

"Harry and Hermione are together!" they echoed. Lavender took another step back, this time in shock.

"No way," she said, as if she couldn't believe it.

"Yes way," Romilda corrected her. "Parvati saw them kissing in the library!"

Lavender couldn't help it so she giggled, putting her hands together and squealing into them. "Ooh," she purred, joined by Romilda and Parvati, who were also laughing. "I'm so happy for Hermione!"

"Forget, Hermione," Parvati frowned, as the two other girls laughed. When their laughter died off and they both looked quizzical, she took a deep breath before explaining herself. "I want Harry to burn for this. Everytime we turn around he's breaking some girl's heart and, because other girls like him, he gets away scot free. I know you like Hermione," she said, looking at Lavender, "And I hate making an example out of her, but its about time we all took a stand and let these boys know that you don't play with girls' emotions just because you're famous!"

Her rallying call only received a lukewarm response, especially with Lavender, who had just enough contact with Harry on a daily basis to hold her back from immediately throwing him under the Knight Bus. Romilda took the initiative to speak first, disagreeing with Parvati. "He's also a pretty decent guy from what I've heard." At Parvati's sudden glare Romilda changed her tune. "But you're right, boys shouldn't walk on us like this and get away with it."

Romilda looked imploringly at Lavender, but it didn't matter. Lavender's friendship with Parvati was more important than any with Harry. "Okay," she said, plopping down on the staircase to conspire with the two girls. "What's your plan?"

Parvati was so excited she could almost cackle in glee. Even though she was wet from head to toe, she was thrilled that her best friend had stuck up for her and she was determined to put Harry down, for once and for good.

Ginny sighed and looked out the window. The other girls had not bothered to seek re-entry to the fifth year dorms, and she didn't expect any of them to be back before nightfall. By now her story of woe had surely been passed around the school and Ginny thought it was almost certain that Harry and Hermione had heard how big of a fit she had thrown.

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment even with nobody to judge the tear tracks on her face or the way her hands shook when she tried to pick up her coffee cup. She wasn't sleepy, in fact, it was quite the contrary; her nerves were so out of whack she didn't know whether she would be better served with a lit cigarette or something to bash against her head. Either way, she decided she needed something to keep her thoughts of off Harry and Hermione's treacherous relationship.

She still couldn't believe what she had heard, and she wasn't sure how stable she would be the first time she saw her ex-best friend. Shaking her head, she thought she would probably freak if she ever ran into Hermione and Harry together, and she was absolutely certain she wasn't ready to face that.

Her impromptu tempest had pretty much drowned the entire dormitory, so she set herself to task using Drying and Warming charms to put everyone's beds back to normal. It was calming to use her wand to lift each bed out of the way, dry the area underneath, fix the sheets and make the bed before moving to the next one. Her mother had taught her how cook, clean, and take care of a home, and even given her pointer's about keeping a man happy (though she had stressed no sex before marriage!) but she had never mentioned how bad it would hurt the first time Ginny had her heart broken. For a long time she moved repetitiously, and when she was finished, she found the other belongings that had been affected and began straightening them out as well.

When she reached Romilda's bed she paid special attention to the wet homework lying just to the left of Romilda's bookbag. The ink was splotched in places, especially towards the bottom, but the essay hinted at a very simple love potion that had been proven to work on any member of the opposite sex. When she found the directions with the essay, she had to literally slap her own hand just to get her away from it.

"No," she said aloud. She reassured herself that she was a bigger person than that. She also told herself that just because her mother had lured her father into her arms by way of love potions and they were both extremely happy didn't mean that she should subjugate another person to the same treatment.

With a sigh, she decided to turn in early and sleep off the day's emotional turmoil. She lay prostrate on the bed, refusing to curl up in the fetal position and cry her eyes out, but no matter how long she lay still, her eyes kept opening to look at the crinkled scroll just across from her and the directions held within.

It was another hour before the first of the girls was brave enough to peek her head back into the dorm. Ginny was sound asleep, and so the girls breathed easy, assuming she must have come to her senses and restored their things before she went to bed. They did their level best not to wake her, just in case, but it wasn't until the next day that they all felt the repercussions of Ginny's meltdown.

One girl, in particular, would be caught in the maelstrom, and this time it would be significantly more dangerous than the one that afternoon.

Harry woke feeling well-rested and refreshed, stretching and letting loose a huge yawn before burying himself deeper in his silken sheets. It was a Saturday, and though he was certain that somewhere below him the ground was covered in snow, the warm sun was shining through his window and his bed was unseasonably warm. For students as busy as Harry, days like this were often spent revising their work and catching cat naps where they could. He couldn't help but notice his sixth year classes were heating up, and though he didn't have to worry about his NEWTs until the following semester, that didn't mean that his professors expected any less of him.

The bones in his back ached from the straight-backed chairs in the library, where he and Hermione had spent the night before simply putting together a plan to make sure they were on top of their studies. Of course, that had not been as entertaining as his original plan, which involved a copious amounts of whipped cream and the Prefect's bathroom, but it certainly wasn't hurting him to have all of his notes and assigned work laid out in front of him in order of importance with the dates due on them.

In fact, Harry was more organized than he had been in his entire life. He found that the more he listened to Hermione, the less likely he was to cause or be in trouble, and the less likely he was to cause or be in trouble, the more Hermione would listen to him. If Harry had to make the library his second home to get Hermione's lips on his with any regularity then that was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

Things between the two sixth year students had been, in Harry's honest opinion, absolutely amazing. Actually having to work for Hermione's trust meant that he had to force himself to be a better person, and the longer that he spent away from the other girls in the castle and ignoring his more boisterous friends, the more confident he was that he was doing the right thing by himself and Hermione. He did think he would be more confident if she was a little less confidential regarding certain body parts and activities but he knew Hermione would be worth the wait.

His selfless thoughts were interrupted by a warbling belch from Marcus, who had rolled himself off his bed and was making an attempt to stand. "Oh, my head hurts," he complained, massaging his temples with both hands. "Urgh, my mouth tastes bloody awful too. Wait a minute... What did you put in my drink last night, Harry?"

Harry's lips were sealed. His best friend didn't need to know that he had replaced the lime in his beverage with a dab of Flobberworm mucus, and Harry definitely wasn't going to tell him that he had spiked his drink just to get away from him for alone time with Hermione. Harry valued Marcus' friendship and advice, but Marcus had never been a fan of the Gryffindor girl and when Harry had explained his sudden infatuation with the Prefect, Marcus had loudly proclaimed that Hermione was a 'know-it-all geek' with a 'holier-than-thou attitude' and 'couldn't make Harry hard with a rock and a switching spell'.

Harry had kindly informed his friend that not only was he wrong, but he also better mind his business and keep his fat trap shut or Harry would show him just how wrong he was. Marcus had just laughed, flinging an un-opened contraceptive at him and betting Harry that he'd never get to use it on Hermione. Marcus had outright dismissed the notion of Harry and Hermione ever copulating and even went as far as to challenge Harry in front of the other boys in the dormitory, giving him until the end of the school year to seduce Hermione into having sex with him. If he failed, Harry would have to give Marcus his Invisibility Cloak for the entire summer.

Harry had been hesitant to accept, but at the other boy's urging he couldn't resist considering the offer. When Marcus eventually offered to lend him a priceless family heirloom, his Uncle Damocles' notes on the making of the Wolfsbane potion, Harry accepted without further deliberation. Harry couldn't afford the materials to recreate the potion without draining his trust fund, but the notes were an invaluable source of information for someone with Harry's knowledge of potions. If he could learn a potion as complex as the Wolfsbane, he would be able to complete the majority of the most difficult potions in existence, and it was well worth being without his cloak for a summer.

Though it had seemed like the right decision at the time, his best friend had taken to following them in his free time, partly to ignore Harry and Hermione and partly to sabotage Harry's efforts and thus enhance Marcus' own chances at earning the cloak. Harry's friend had been clever to a point, but Harry didn't mince words when he told him he was going to knock him out if the boy didn't stop following them.

With a disgusted cry, Marcus threw the remains of a dead Flobberworm at Harry, having found it lying on the floor by his bed. "What the hell did you put in my drink, Harry?" he yelled, before reaching for his bed-side table to grab his wand.

Harry smiled at him mischievously, holding Marcus' wand in his left hand with his own trained on Marcus' legs. "Now," he said, having just stood up in his determination to get his point across. "Lets talk about how you're going to stop following me."

"Fine!" Marcus hollered, trying and failing to get the horrible taste off of his tongue. "I won't follow you and Hermione anymore... as long as you never put anything in my drink again!"

Harry tossed Marcus his wand, but not before hitting his friend with a leg locker curse, sending him falling face first onto his bed, and following it up by enchanting the sheets to wrap themselves around Marcus' head. Harry smiled as Marcus groaned. "For all this talk about my sex life, how many faces have been biting your bedsheets, Marcus?" Harry made his way towards the showers, using his wand to summon his clothes as he walked. When he reached the door he turned back to Marcus, who still hadn't removed his head from the sheets and was trying in vain to reach his wand. "That's what I thought, bitch!"

He heard angry muttering as he entered the bathroom and couldn't help but chuckle to himself. Harry figured Marcus would forgive him easily enough as they had never had an argument that lasted more than six hours in their entire time at Hogwarts and they attacked eachother with spells on a daily basis. Nevertheless, Harry had decided that his best friend would be in for a rude awakening if he continued following Harry and Hermione. In a way, he almost wished his friend would follow them just so he could prove his point.

As he relaxed in the shower, Harry mentally went over his plans for the day. He was going to catch some breakfast at the Ravenclaw table because each house was obligated to sit together at meal times, but other than that the day was going to be dedicated to his girlfriend. She had only requested to spend some time in Tomes and Scrolls, which anyone in the school could have guessed after five minutes with Hermione, and Gladrags, with the trip to the latter supposed to earn him a special present that he wasn't entirely sure he was going to like. That left the rest of the day up to Harry, so he had planned lunch at the Three Broomsticks between trips to Zonko's, Dervish and Banges and a simple walk around the outskirts of the village.

Luckily Hermione wasn't what Harry would call high maintenance, and as long as he didn't implicitly insult her she was agreeable and easy-going. Of course, he didn't know her as well as he would like to, and certainly not as well as Ron or Ginny, but he didn't expect she would mind anything short of a hiking trip up the mountain or a dip in the frosty lake.

"Hurry up in there," shouted Marcus. Harry had cast a Colloportus charm on the door after entering just because he knew his friend would be seeking retribution once he freed himself from the sheets. "We're all about to bust!"

Harry smiled and waited a few more seconds before opening the door with his wand, laughing as two of his roommates fell over eachother and landed in a heap. "Morning, gents," he quipped, stepping over the arguing pair. He eyed Marcus disapprovingly, as the boy had decided to forego completely removing the sheets and had just torn holes through it so he could see. The tendrils of fabric continued to brush at the boy's brown hair, making its last desperate attempts to annoy Harry's incensed friend.

"Why are you so glib, Potter," asked Randy Jones, a freckled-faced boy that had an intense dislike for anything Harry-related. "Aren't you taking out the Gryffindor bookworm? Let me guess... Bookstore, followed by the Three Broomsticks, maybe a walk around Hosgmeade to make everything romantic?"

The two boys who had fallen laughed, and even Marcus smiled, refusing to come to his friend's aid after the Flobberworm mucus and the attacking bedsheets. Fortunately Harry didn't need any help. "And who are you taking to Hogsmeade, Robbie?"

"Randy," he muttered, and then said louder. "If you must know, I'm taking Melissa Hargrove." He turned his nose up at Harry, whose guffaws overrode Randy's sharp intake of breath.

Marcus chimed in. "That slut would make Hagrid nut for a knut." Randy punched him in the arm, causing Harry to laugh even harder. "I'm serious, Randy; she's polished half the wands in the school and that's not even counting Slytherins!"

Harry chose that moment to exit the room, leaving the rest of the boys to argue with eachother and fight for the bathroom space. At the top of the stairs he took a deep breath, descending slowly and keeping an eye out for any early morning common room activity. After a few seconds he spotted Luna sitting by the fire, her barefeet gleaming in the sunlight streaming through the window.

From his vantage point he could see her smiling, lazily painting lime green swirls on her toenails and talking animatedly to no one at all. He could also see the fifth year girls hiding from her or outright jeering her behind her back and a group of seventh year males trying to catch a glimpse at the very tops of her exposed legs. Doing his level best to ignore the steam building in his head, he walked over to Luna and plopped down on the couch beside her, raking one hand over her knee and simply asking, "What's up?"

She didn't bat an eyelash at his sudden appearance or the unnecessary groping of her leg, but after a few moments she said, "Sadly, I am. No matter what I did to sleep last night I could not dream the right dream." She tossed her hair dramatically, rolling a few strands around her finger in a way that was eerily reminiscent of Ginny.

Harry smiled. "Well, what did you want to dream about in the first place?"

Luna clapped her hands together and brought her feet to the ground, looking very eager to tell her tale. "Well. My favorite dream is of me and you hanging out by the Great Lake."

Harry thought that sounded nice, though he couldn't deny he had expected something a bit more fantastical from his free-spirited friend. Eventually he said, "Well, you know we could make that dream a reality anytime you want!"

Luna looked exceptionally bright at his statement, saying, "So you will lay me down on the edge of the beach in the wet sand, ravaging me with your strong hands, until the Merpeople come to the lake shore confusing my screams for those of a dying mermaid?" She was standing and hugging him before he could react, and she pinned his arms to his chest, loudly proclaiming, "Thank you, Harry! You've made all my wildest fantasies come true!"

Harry chanced a look around and found that most of the students in their area immediately turned their heads away and pretended to be doing something else. He almost laughed as he saw a portly third year boy named James Robinson try to hide behind a small statue of Rowena Ravenclaw, spilling the minature replica onto the hardwood floor with a resounding clunk. Looking down at Luna, who seemed determined to stretch out the hug until the situation was no longer deemed awkward, Harry could see the earnest expression underneath the protuberant eyes and bouncy, blonde curls.

"Luna," Harry began, shaking his head and smiling at his friend. Her lovey-dovey facade didn't fade, and he actually felt her muscles tense as he gently tried to pull away. "You know that's not what I meant."

"I know," she sighed, and for once Harry was struck by how much older she looked. The cute, almost chubby cheeks she had exhibited for the last five years seemed suddenly sharper and more defined, just as the hips and chest presently pressed against him had become distinctly larger. He was momentarily taken aback by his realization that his best friend, and he could truly call her that after all these years, was now a fully-fledged woman.

Just as suddenly, she had pulled away. "It was worth a try, I suppose," she said, feigning sadness that Harry perceived was more real than she let on. Then, seemingly out of the blue, she said, "You know, I really do think you're a better person with Hermione, Harry. She's been good for you."

Harry thanked her, but other than that he was silent. Despite himself, he found his heart was beating so hard that he thought she had to feel it against her own chest. Leaning forward unthinkingly, he found his head was achingly close to hers, and their lips were just a few inches apart when she spoke.

"I'm proud of you," she said, loosening her arms just a bit and moving them to touch the nape of his neck. A delightful tingle ran down his spine, her warm fingers tracing circles that were ticklish but very pleasurable. He began to think that if she didn't let him go he would have a very difficult time explaining to Hermione how he ended up making out with his best friend in front of the entire common room. As distracted as he was, he could still hear Luna clearly. "I hope you two have a good time in Hosgmeade. I'm going to go by myself."

For some reason, Harry felt like he had been punched in the gut by a troll. His best friend was going to be lonely for the rest of the day, probably wasting what little money she had on a Butterbeer and a few sweets while he and Hermione had the run of the town, buying century old books and parading through the village liked they owned it.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked, his own arms rising to hold Luna in place. He racked his mind to think of a way he could ask Luna to join him in Hogsmeade without destroying his date with Hermione, but his imagination was limited to being cursed by Hermione and kissing Luna in the Shrieking Shack and both situations spelled catastrophe for Harry.

"Absolutely certain," she deadpanned, sounding less than sure. "I will be fine, Harry. Of course, it would be far more exciting writhing in the throes of an orgasm while the lake washes us clean, but I can settle for a jaunt around the village." She stopped playing with his neck long enough to pluck a hair from it, making him involuntarily howl in pain. "Oh my," she added, pulling away from him. "That's what your orgasm sounds like?"

Harry lightly slapped his friend on the arm, smiling all the while. "You're incorrigible, Luna." He reached towards her face and shifted her hair away from her eyes, and her baby blues glowed with emotion. For a long time the two of them stood together comfortably, their arms hanging at their sides but their faces still close.

"I learned from the best, Harry," she finally said. Changing the subject, she checked her watch and muttered, "Let's go get some breakfast and get you on your way."

And despite his morning thoughts, and the last month of going to sleep with Hermione alone on his mind, Harry couldn't help thinking that it would be a lot more fun in Hogsmeade if Luna was going to be the one on his arm.

Hermione glided into the Great Hall looking as good as ever, having done her level best to tame her hair into the slick masterpiece that it was today. Her cheeks shined with blush and her eyelashes were long and full, and if Harry didn't already think she was in love with him, her happy expression when he caught her eye would have convinced him otherwise.

"Harry!" she said, her sparkling smile leaving him looking unabashedly goofy. "Thank you for the earrings," she added, showing off the golden-trimmed quaffles he had given her the night previous as a token of his affection. "They are beautiful."

"As are you," he quipped, drawing a slight giggle that had his heart hammering. "Have you eaten?"

"No, but I'm not hungry right now. I'm just ready to spend the day with you." Her doe eyes left him feeling suddenly weary, and he felt like he needed to sit down for a moment. "What did you want to do first?" She smiled encouragingly at him, and he felt like a giant ninny.

Harry grimaced. "Well, to be honest with you, Hermione, I had a change of plans."

Hermione just looked curious, so he thought that was a good start. "Do tell?" she asked, peering into his eyes.

"The thing is... I really love spending time with you, Hermione, and it doesn't matter if it is in the library, in class, in the kitchens, whatever. Just being around you makes me happy, and since you've come into my life I've shared more about my own life then I ever have before. I want to thank you for being there for me in a way no one else ever cared to."

Hermione's eyes weren't brimming with tears, but she did look a little saddened by what he was referring to. He had been almost criminally neglected during his childhood, but he had become such an intelligent and popular student that very few people recognized it. Still, confiding in Hermione had helped put his mind at ease, and he felt like graduating Hogwarts would leave the bad memories behind for good. However, Harry had not started this conversation to whine or look for pity from Hermione.

"I just want to say that I appreciate every minute we have together and I plan on spending a lot more time with you in our future. All that said," he continued, and noted Hermione's attention was now fully on him, "I would like to invite someone else to come along with us, at least for part of the day."

Hermione didn't seem completely averse to the idea, but she asked, "Who are you trying to invite?"

"Actually," Harry said, looking around for his friend and spotting her chewing her breakfast at the Ravenclaw table, looking serenely at her fork. "I was going to invite Luna to join us."

Hermione bristled with indignation, pointing at the blonde girl. "Look, Harry, I know she's one of your best friends, and I have no problem with that, but you see her everyday in the common room! I'm not trying to be jealous, and of course she can come if you really want her to, but I just can't understand why you'd rather spend time with her than me." Her crest-fallen face was not what he had hoped for when he originally broached the subject.

"Oh no, Hermione, its not that at all!" he hastened to assure her. "Its just... well, she doesn't have a lot of friends and she's bound to be all alone in Hogsmeade the whole day. She's a good girl, a great friend, and I don't want to see her picked on or made fun of when its her day off and she's supposed to be having fun herself."

Hermione looked thoughtful though she still seemed put out by the proposed new addition to their party. "I don't know, Harry. I'm sure she would be fine right by herself. I mean, she's kind of self-absorbed to start with." She watched Harry closely, gauging his reaction. "Are you sure this a good idea?"

They both took a moment to look at the blonde girl who was resting a soup bowl on her head and attempting to use her salt shaker as if it was a kaleidoscope. Hermione just gaped at her while Harry was forcibly reminded of a mad scientist that Harry had seen in one of Dudley's cartoons as a child.

"I'm sure, Hermione," Harry said, and didn't see the hurt look she had at his insistence to keep another girl involved. "Here, let me go ask her."

He walked off without saying another word, drawing confused looks from his girlfriend and the rest of the school, and then contemptuous faces from most of Gryffindor. Luna was all too happy to join him, even going as far as to give him a quick hug and the biggest smile Hermione had ever seen on the girl.

Something in her stomach didn't sit right, and Harry's peck on the lips when he returned wasn't enough to relieve the weight pressing on her heart or the fear that everything was about to be turned on its head.

Once the three students had settled themselves, Harry trotted off in the direction of the exit. Hermione turned to stare at Luna, the former having trouble accepting that the latter was even there. Luna just continued to watch Harry as he walked away, her happy smile intensifying when he turned back with his customary rakish grin.

"Let's party," he said, opening the door for the two girls.


	5. Chapter Five

Potter, No Angst

Averis

Chapter Five: Signature Move / Regretfully Yours

Harry wandered the streets of Hogsmeade slowly, guiding the two most important girls in his life around the village. As they walked, Hermione held his arm tightly, looking like she'd love nothing more than to pull him away from Luna, who was smiling brightly beside him and seemed disinclined to lose her spot anytime in the next few hours. Fortunately for him, Harry had done his best to ignore the heated looks Hermione shot at Luna as well as the raspberry Luna had blown at his girlfriend when she walked into Dervish and Banges, but even he wasn't naive enough to believe that their fragile truce would last any longer than Hogsmeade. As Hermione snarled at an inane comment Luna made, Harry figured he would be lucky to keep them from fighting before they got back to the castle.

As they passed Spintwitches, a shop that specialized in female Quidditch supplies, Harry tried valiantly to find a common ground between the two witches. "Would either one of you like to go in The Magic Neep?"

It was a testament to the atmosphere that neither Luna or Hermione spoke until Harry had glanced at both of them in turn. Hermione seemed immediately averse to the idea, but she did at least turn her head to look at the Wizarding grocery store. All manner of dead animal hung from the ceilings, some of them already cooked but the vast majority of them recently deceased. Luna squealed suddenly, drawing a careful glance from Harry and one of loathing from Hermione.

Luna crossed the street to stare transifixedly at a dead caterpillar, eventually petting and cooing at it, sending a message that she was completely, unabashedly mad. As Harry and Hermione approached, pushing through a group of Hufflepuffs who were discussing Luna's relative dementia, the blonde Ravenclaw bent down to lay a soft kiss on the caterpillar's crinkled up carcass. Hermione was scandalized and opened her mouth to complain, but Harry touched her arm softly and shook his head, smiling ruefully at his friend. He figured that she was probably intentionally doing it to make him laugh; either that, or she was just egging his girlfriend on.

At length, Luna finally said, "I could use a bit of ravenwort for Potions; I've been out for a few weeks and its difficult trying to borrow from the students in my class on a daily basis." She brought her index finger to the corner of her mouth suddenly, chewing on a nail and looking thoughtful. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers. "Oh, and I need a couple of cucumbers as well."

Hermione sniffed, taking a sip of the Butterbeer Harry had purchased from a vendor on the street. "What do you need cucumbers for? I can't think of a Potion that uses them."

Luna shook her head, rolling her eyes at Hermione. "No, silly. I use the cucumbers for practice!"

Before Hermione could ask her next question, presumably what Luna meant by practice, Harry interrupted the conversation with a cough, pretending he had swallowed a fly. "Oh, I'm alright," he said, shooing Hermione away. Changing the subject he said, smilingly, "Lets just go ahead and go in the Neep. It shouldn't take us long to get a few things."

Hermione didn't want to go, saying, "Actually I'd prefer to go to the Witches' Weave and get some hair product. You know how hard it is to keep this bush tamed." Curiously enough, Luna giggled uncontrollably at Hermione's statement.

"Beautiful with or without, dear," Harry chimed. He patted Hermione's hair softly, leaning in towards her as they walked. "I could fall asleep in that bed of hair."

"Oh, you could, could you?" Hermione wasn't smiling.

Luna rolled her eyes again and tugged on Harry's sleeve. "C'mon Harry," she said, pulling him towards the store. "I'll show you something really neat about cucumbers!"

Harry turned to Hermione, cocking an eyebrow and bowing forward, breaking Luna's contact on his robes. "Mi'lady, would you like to join us?" he asked, smiling toothily.

His smile fell when she shrugged him off, pushing his arm away and whispering acidically, "No, I don't think I would. You two have a great time together though!" Luna had walked away and was admiring some dirigible plums outside of the green grocer so she didn't hear Hermione's statement. "Hopefully I'll see you when we're done." She gave him a hurt look and quickly turned away from him, striding into the hair salon without another word.

"Wait, Hermione!"

It was too late. Hermione had already entered the store and did not seem to be waiting on him to follow her. Harry sighed and rubbed his temples, already having a strong urge to visit his dorm room and recollect his strong liquor. Eventually he chose to follow Luna, letting her peruse the shop at her own pace and concentrating on trying to stave off the headache he was certain to have by the time Hermione returned.

Luna walked around the store slowly, prodding things that interested her with her wand and allowing Harry time to catch up to her. When he finally did, she turned to him and asked, "Where's Hermione?"

Harry shrugged non-chalantly. "I guess she's mad." His lack of expression belied his tumultuous emotions; he cared about Hermione, especially in a romantic sense, but he was unaccustomed to dealing with a girl so obviously against showing public affection, and yet all for public humiliation. In fact, this Hogsmeade trip had him unexpectedly longing for the warmth of Lisa Lines' bed sheets.

"No, I'm the one that's mad." Luna said, unaware of Harry's thoughts and happily munching on an artichoke heart. "She's not mad at you, Harry."

"Well, what is it then? Its like anytime I do something she doesn't explictly tell me I'm supposed to do, I either get chewed out or end up by myself wondering what the hell I did in first place!" At the sound of his raised voice the owner of the store whipped her head around to stare at him so Harry took a deep, calming breath, trying to get his emotions under control in the cramped store. "I like Hermione, I really do, but I can't stand her acting like I have to change my life around to fit her schedule, her rules, her everything." He sighed. "Personally, I think SPEW is the worst name for freedom fighters since the Knights of Walpurgis."

Luna nodded seriously. "Death Eater sounds so much more liberating."

Harry agreed, but declined to comment. "The worst part is that she expects me to just follow along with whatever she's thinking no matter how I feel about it." His enthusiasm grew as he continued. "For example, last week I was in the library..."

"Again?" Luna queried, though the answer was as plain as Hermione's absence.

Harry turned away from her, waving a hand agitatedly. "Yes, again, thank you. Anyway, Hermione's sitting in her little office just quietly scribbling away for almost an hour and a half, despite the fact we've both already finished our homework for the next three days and have the rest of the evening to ourselves. So, I walk up to her and put a hand on her shoulders, start massaging her back, even underneath the top of her shirt so that she can feel how warm my hands are..."

"Yes, I know. The Boy Who Lived's signature move..."

"Right. And as I'm working my way downward, paying special attention to her spine," he intoned, vaguely recognizing a moan from Luna, "using my thumb and forefinger to guide myself down her shoulders to her lower back, she's completely silent..."

Unbeknownst to Harry, Luna was red-faced and eagerly watching him as he talked, running one hand down a kumquat lying in a bin to the left of her.

Harry continued, "And I'm thinking to myself; Harry, you know she's got to be loving this. You are such a stud. And you know what she does, Luna?"

Luna scrambled away from the bin, looking a little chastised, though Harry didn't notice. Still, she had the wherewithal to quip, "She pushes you down, mounts in you in the reverse cowgirl position and, right before you ejaculate, Madame Pince joins in?"

"Huh?" Harry waffled. "What?"

"No?" Luna asked. Then she ammended her statement, saying, "That's what I would have done, at least."

Harry ignored her. "She asks me to stop. Point blank. Then she goes back to writing as if nothing had even happened!"

Luna looked bewildered at this, though if Harry was honest, Luna always looked a little dazed and confused. She didn't respond at first, as the two of them were very close to an elderly witch and her much, much younger grandson, but once they had safely cleared the pair she spoke.

"So, lets put the eggs all in one tub, shall we?" she said, leading him through an area lined with baskets of apples and oranges. "One, she's trying to dictate what you do, not only during her time with you, but also in your own seperate personal life and you're rebelling against it because you don't require the same scruples from her. Correct?"

Harry nodded, having surmised as much himself. Luna continued. "Two, everything you try to do to make her happy backfires because you're also trying to make everyone else happy at the same time. Hence the reason I'm even here in first place." Harry opened his mouth to disagree but Luna cut him off, saying, "I'm thrilled to be here, of course. I'm just playing devil's advocate, but you know there is truth in what I'm saying, Harry. You spend a lot of time worrying about what other people think of you, though to be fair, you don't let it get in your way when you're really determined. In this case, you care what she thinks of you, but I'm your best friend so even though you knew it would cause problems you went through with it because that's what you wanted, and dare I say, desired."

Harry waved her off. "I just didn't want you to be lonely all day, and I thought we could all have a good time together."

"Bullshit," she said, surprising Harry. "You might convince Hermione with that tripe, but I know you better than that, Harry. You thought you could have fun with me and still keep Hermione happy at the same time, and you were dreadfully, horribly, awe-inspiringly wrong." Harry's blank face sent Luna into hysterics. When she recovered from her bout of laughter she said, "Did you even bother to think what she wants? I'm absolutely certain it didn't involve 'Looney' Luna Lovegood." The self-deprecating title she gave herself bothered Harry, but again, she didn't give him time to interrupt. "She's a brilliant student, and smart as a whip, but she's terribly simple to figure out."

Harry definitely disagreed with that last statement, as he had yet to figure Hermione out himself, but he couldn't deny that Luna was probably right. She did have the prized Ravenclaw intellect in spades, though he imagined she had as much trouble with her own emotions as he did with Hermione's. His silence continued long after Luna had finished speaking, so she stopped in the aisle to turn around and grab him by the shoulders.

Steadying him and making sure she had his full attention, she said, "Isn't it obvious, Harry?" She put her arms around his neck and her nose near his collarbone, taking a deep breath and apparently smelling him. "She's jealous of us."

Then, before he could do anything but stand stock still with his mouth hanging open, she pressed her lips to his. Fire grew in his stomach and flames blossomed up and down his arms, leaving goose pimples lining his skin and everything feeling very ticklish. His hormones cried out for more, and he unconsciously kissed her deeper, their tongues meeting tentatively and rolling around eachother.

As they kissed, Harry couldn't help but think that this kiss had been better than any from Hermione, and there were absolutely no thoughts of Lisa Lines. Luna's hair fell around their faces, and while she pulled away to look him in the eyes, she still continued to tug at his bottom lip with her teeth. She guided him into a darker part of the Neep, and he could barely make out corn and peas before she pressed him against the wall, her hands roaming up and down and his chest and releasing something he had not known was pent up inside of him.

"Don't you see, Harry?" Luna whispered, once they had calmed down for a moment and were simply resting their heads against eachother. "This is why Hermione is afraid, and why she is pushing you away. Your heart is in the right place, but you enjoy the chase more than the relationship. If you would stop worrying about what people think of you, then you could have something..." Taking a deep breath, she took his hand and placed it over her chest, holding it there for a second and locking eyes with him. "Like this."

Without another word she hopped away from him, dusting off her sun dress and smiling as if none of what had just took place had even occurred. Then, to Harry's great surprise, Hermione appeared behind him, looking apologetic instead of angry. Luna walked away, humming a sad little song and Hermione took over the spot that Luna had just vacated. "What were you two talking about?" she asked, not looking accusatory in the slightest.

Harry gaped for a moment, but recovered quickly enough to say, "She was giving me relationship advice." He paused for a moment. "I think."

Hermione chuckled without humor, narrowing her eyes and watching as Luna frowned over some rosemary. "Her?" she asked unnecessarily. "I hope you didn't take it to heart. She's almost as relationship-savvy as Peeves is mortal."

Harry nodded, having no other response for Hermione's vitriol and feeling rather all over the place as far as his emotions were concerned. Hermione watched him carefully, noticing his unexplained sadness.

"Are you alright?" she inquired, placing a hand on his arm. "You look pale as a ghost!"

Harry shrugged it off. "I'm just hungry, that's all."

Hermione laughed. "Now you sound like Ron, no offense," she said quickly. Checking her watch she added, "Well, it is after lunchtime, so we might as well head to the Three Broomsticks. I know you probably don't want to hear this, but Ginny and her friends will be there, so I think its best we steer clear of them and find a booth quickly before anyone notices."

Again, Harry nodded, meekly following his girlfriend out of the store. Luna waved merrily from the counter, and Hermione was annoyed that they had to wait for Luna to pay for her groceries before they coud leave. When she finally came out of the store Hermione let out of a sigh of relief, pulling Harry towards the Three Broomsticks without another word.

As they walked, Luna reached in the bag and removed a cucumber. When Hermione was occupied, Luna turned to Harry and trailed her thin, pink tongue down the length of the cucumber, her face the picture of pleasure and her guttural moans sending shivers down the back of his neck. Harry frowned, and was forced to smile at his girlfriend when she turned her attention to him a moment later.

He had a distinct feeling lunch was going to be indigestable; his headache was fully-developed by this point and it was tremendously difficult for him to imagine anything relieving it over the next few hours. When he realized that he had at least four more hours until he could rightly suggest heading back to the castle he nearly sobbed, as he knew without a shadow of a doubt something was going to go wrong.

The only question was which girl was going to snap first.

ooooo

Lavender worried her lip as she and her best friend stood outside the Three Broomsticks. The biting cold swirled around them and though she was bundled up tightly she shivered, half-afraid they would get caught, and yet fully consumed by her excitement. Parvati chuckled under her breath beside Lavender.

"There they are," she murmured, making sure to look uninterested in the three students joining them outside the pub. Lavender noted that Hermione looked harried, Harry looked harrassed, and the Lovegood girl was following behind them dutifully, looking hardly bothered by her two companions.

Parvati frowned. "What is she doing here?" She growled and stamped her foot. "This wasn't part of the plan!"

Romilda joined them a few moments later, a smug little smile on her sharp features. "Now you sound like Ginny." She mocked her friend, waving her wand around foolishly. "She stole my one true love! You don't know how I feel!"

Lavender grabbed her friend, who was drawing attention from Hermione, and pulled her hand down sharply. "Be quiet!" she whispered, and Romilda shut her mouth before she made a scene. "Don't you see Harry and Hermione right there?"

Romilda rotated so that the three students were in her peripheral vision. "What is she doing here?" she said, referring to Luna.

Parvati rolled her eyes. "We have no idea, but there's nothing for it. We'll just proceed as planned."

Harry looked at them curiously right before he entered the bar, and the three girls tensed, but he continued unimpeded at Hermione's slightly belittling command. "Hurry up, Harry!" she urged as she swept through the entrance. For a moment Harry stopped short, his pent up emotions displayed darkly on his face. Lavender wondered at the reason behind Harry's angry scowl, but before she could put too much thought into it, Luna laughed at him and the terse moment dissipated. Just as quickly the Boy Who Lived relaxed, shaking his head ruefully. He nodded at Lavender and held the door for Luna, following her through it moments later.

When the three students finally entered the bar, Parvati released the breath she had been holding and turned to Romilda. "Follow them in and find a seat somewhere near them. But not too close!" she stressed, even as she pushed the girl forward. "Don't do anything until you see the signal."

Romilda mock yawned but nevertheless followed the group inside. Parvati waited a moment and then grabbed Lavender by the forearm. "Okay, you wait here and I'll go find Ginny."

Lavender nodded, still looking a little worried. When her friend left her she closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself for what was sure to be the beginning of the end for more than one relationship. As much regret as she felt for what she and her friends were about to do, she still couldn't help the little smile that crossed her face when she imagined Harry's reaction.

The students in the Three Broomsticks were about to be in for a particularly rare treat. Harry Potter was about to get dumped. 

ooooo

Ron Weasley was silently contemplating his life, staring gloomily at the half-eaten scone and lukewarm hot chocolate on the table in front of him. As much as he had enjoyed the rambunctious atmosphere of the Three Broomsticks on previous Hogsmeade trips, he couldn't pull himself out of the brooding, borderline bi-polar mood he had been in for the last few weeks.

Students buzzed around him; some of them quite literally feeling the effects of too many Butterbeers. The boothes were all full, so he had procured a two person table near the farthest wall, closest to the bar and obscured by a massive vase of Scottish Bluebells, giving him full view of anyone who entered and protection from wandering eyes. To his chagrin, a seventh year Hufflepuff had swiped the chair opposite of him just moments after he had arrived. Unable to muster up the courage or even the energy to ask for his chair back, Ron cut a pathetically unapathetic figure.

Following that one ill-fated Transfiguration class, his friends and family had all but deserted him, and the worst part was the overwhelming feeling that it was all his own fault. Hermione, for one, wouldn't look at him without disappointment or anger on her face. Ginny was too wrapped up in something, probably some boy, to bother entertaining her brother, and without Hermione on his side he found that he had very few true friends. In fact, he was on the verge of being tossed from the Quidditch squad because he had to serve detention rather than attend their humiliating loss to Ravenclaw, courtesy of the Boy Who Lived's deft swipe in the thirteenth minute, and practices had devolved into Gryffindor's three female Chasers aiming at his head rather than the goals.

Melancholy as that thought was, he was at least thankful he was out of the castle for a day. It was so bad that the previous evening he day-dreamed that the trophy case had come to life and was scrubbing him. He recalled with some embarassment the bewildered look that Filch had given him as he nervously scrambled across the dusty floor and away from the closest trophy.

He drummed his long fingers on the table impatiently. Lavender had neglected to mention that she and Parvati had something to take care of until the very last minute, leaving him with only a light kiss on the cheek and assurances that she would be at the Three Broomsticks at half past noon.

As it had eclipsed noon and was now verging on one o'clock he was beyond annoyed with his girlfriend. He figured the two girls could not have completely forgotten about him in their haste to do... well, whatever it was they were doing, but he couldn't deny that it was starting to look that way.

Eventually he shrugged, standing up to walk over and order another drink, prepared to bide his time until Lav Lav arrived, but before he could work his way back around the table he noticed Hermione peeking her head in the door. He saw rather than heard her sigh of relief and assumed it was because his sister wasn't around to start trouble; the two girls had been at loggerheads ever since Hermione had first kissed Harry and, judging by Ginny's almost outlandish flirtation with every boy in the school recently, the stalemate would not be ending anytime soon. Obviously he had not been pleased with that particular development either, but it wasn't as if he had any choice in the matter, and verbalizing his displeasure just left him on the losing end of another ill-conceived argument with Hermione.

Ron frowned at the many malignant memories, and then snarled when Harry walked in behind Hermione, followed immediately by a blonde girl he knew was Harry's friend but didn't quite recognize. Just the sight of the good-looking boy with two good-looking girls was enough to send him into another bout of jealousy, but he did his level best not to rise from his chair and instigate trouble. He regretted not sitting closer to their end of the room so that he could listen in on the potentially important conversation the three students were likely to have.

Then he smiled, leaning back in his chair contentedly. He had one of Fred and George's Extendable Ears in his pocket. 

ooooo

Draco Malfoy stirred his tea unhappily as he waited for some sort of company to join him. Crabbe and Goyle both had girlfriends now, which not only took Draco by surprise, but also left him slightly queazy and more than a little concerned for the two unfortunate females. Nott and Zabini had decided to stay in the castle for a little extracurricular dueling, and though he had made an attempt at bullying them into going to Hogsmeade by accusing them of 'crossing wands', the two boys had merely shrugged him off and gone about their business anyways.

Draco sneered. Truthfully, he could care less if the four boys were present, but it did bother him that his betrothed had decided to stay inside as well. Though he kicked, screamed, raged, and even whined a little, she had refused to step outside the castle and was adamant about him going any damn way. Draco wasn't old enough, powerful enough, or married enough to force her to go, so he had tossed a few insults her way and left, making the short trek to Hogsmeade on his own.

It occurred to him at the time that this would be his first trip to Hogsmeade entirely by his lonesome; however, it did not occur to him that once he got there he would have absolutely nothing to do. He had only brought a few galleons with him for drinks and food, as he was stocked up on everything he could ever need thanks to his generous monthly allowance, and he really had no reason to peruse any of the stores by his self. Thus, it had been a wholly uneventful day and he was considering putting his tail between his legs and returning to Hogwarts.

Of course, he wouldn't mention he had been by himself the entire time, bored out of his bloody mind.

Frowning, he stopped a waitress just long enough to order another drink. She paused to take his order and left in a huff. Draco didn't understand her displeasure; his father had drinks on the house all the time, so why wasn't he entitled to the same treatment? He sneered. She was probably a filthy mudblood anyway.

It was as he was pondering the death of the lesser races and potential world domination at the expense of all Muggles that a pretty little blonde popped up at his table, seating herself without a greeting.

Draco couldn't help the sneer from slipping off his face; the girl was vividly attractive and eyeing him the same way his mother looked at chocolate covered cherries the moment before she ate them. Disconcerted, he just stared open mouthed at the unrecognizable girl, who was clad in Slytherin colors but definitely looked different than anyone he could recall seeing before.

"Excuse me if I come across rude," he said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "But I have absolutely no idea who you are." He paused, scanning the girl up and down. "What's your name?"

If she had any problem with him checking her out she certainly didn't voice them; instead, she leaned in closer, allowing the top of her blouse to fall just enough to show off her rather alluring assets.

"Astoria. Astoria Greengrass." 

ooooo

Pansy Parkinson woke up with a slight headache and full blown hunger. Her stomach growled loudly to signify this, so she reluctantly crawled out of bed for a trip to the kitchens. Reminding herself that she was supposed to tickle the pear, she was also forcibly reminded how pear-shaped her life had turned in the last few weeks.

Draco had spent more and more time on his own, aloof and completely uninterested in anything that had to do with her. He avoided her at lunch time, sneered at her when she was caught staring, and more or less ignored her existence unless she was already in his presence. She was starting to believe that marrying Draco would not only be the worst mistake she could make, but to her even greater frustration, it was beginning to look like eloping with a Malfoy was the worst mistake anyone could make.

She need only look at Narcissa's life as a housewife in a home filled with slaves to see how that choice would pan out. As much as she loathed housework, she couldn't stand having absolutely nothing to do for hours at a time.

Hence the reason she was getting dressed. She had slept plenty, tossed and turned even more, and she was struggling just to make her hair semi-manageable. Giving it up as a lost cause, she donned a form-fitting purple dress and a very warm cloak, applying a bit of make up before she vacated the Slytherin dungeons.

Walking past the Great Hall she spotted Nott and Zabini laughing, most likely at another unfortunate student's expense. "Parkinson," Zabini greeted her. "What are you doing inside Hogwarts?"

"I could ask you the same question, Zabini. Why are you and your boyfriend in the castle?"

Nott pulled a face but Zabini just smiled at her, looking distinctly snakelike. "We decided to pound on eachother a little bit, y'know, relieve all the frustrations of the week."

Pansy laughed in their faces. "And you wonder why everyone thinks you're gay."

Nott snarled. "Who said we're gay?" Offended by the suggestion that he could be anything less than heterosexual, Nott pushed his friend out of the way and stood in front of Pansy. "What Draco's been saying, I don't care. I'll beat his ass!"

"You just did," Pansy said, never slowing down. "And... beat his ass? How gay is that!" At Nott's out-raged look she hurried down the hall. "See you guys around!"

She laughed to herself; she always enjoyed jerking their chains, even if she really did think they might be homosexual despite their claims. The two boys were virtually inseperable, and way too touchy-feely for her to assume otherwise.

A few minutes later she came across Goyle and Crabbe, who both had their arms draped across decent if not attractive girls' shoulders. They didn't greet her as they were too wrapped up in their romantic exploits to notice her. This didn't bother her, as she had next to no contact with the two oafs and had no idea what the two unlucky broads' names were, but the simple fact that Draco wasn't there left a funny feeling in her stomach that had nothing to do with her missing breakfast and lunch.

For some time she stood in the Entrance Hall, debating whether or not to follow her betrothed to Hogsmeade despite the fact she had initially declined to go, but her worry would not abate no matter how hard she willed it to. Eventually, she decided that she would check on him, and if he had a problem with her being there he could piss off.

Unfortunately for her, she had no idea how pissed off she would be when she actually got to Hogsmeade.


	6. Chapter Six

Potter, No Angst

Averis

Chapter Six: What Do I Do Now? / What Haven't I Done?

"Let's sit here, Harry."

Hermione chose their seats and sat down lightly in the booth, smoothing her dress out before looking at Harry expectantly. Luna took a moment to remove her shoes before she sat down, ignoring Hermione's reproachful look as she saw her mismatched lime and orange socks. Harry joined them both by seating himself next to his girlfriend. She smiled then, grabbing his hand in hers and placing it on the table where the rest of the room was sure to see. Harry was tempted to roll his eyes, noting that Luna was doing the same, but he somehow averted them to glance around the room.

He could spot a few of his better friends lounging about the pub, most drinking heartily and conversating with the people around them. Dean and Seamus, the most popular sixth year Gryffindors, were sitting with Demelza Robins and Allison Barnes, respectively. Dean raised a glass in his direction, so Harry graced the boy with a smile and a nod, having been unable to procure a drink of his own yet.

Madame Rosmerta came to their table then, arms full of drinks and plates, and paused just long enough to take their orders. She swept away without writing the order down, as two butterbeers and one pumpkin juice were easy enough to remember. No one at the table spoke in the interval between Rosmerta leaving and her gradual return. She smiled at the three teenagers in front of her as she laid down the drinks, and Harry thanked her, handing her a few galleons and drawing Luna's sudden interest.

Once Rosmerta had left their vacinity, Luna broke the silence. "Big money, eh, Harry?" she prodded. "My what a tremendous gentleman you are!"

Harry laughed under his breath, trying to deflect the unnecessary praise. "Its nothing," he said, looking Luna in the eye. Her blue eyes returned his glance, and for a few seconds they watched eachother, as if they were alone in the booth. His stomach squirmed when Hermione huffed angrily from beside him.

"You shouldn't have tipped her so much. I know Madame Rosmerta is a good person, and I know you have plenty of money, but you shouldn't be so wasteful with the money your parents left you."

Harry attempted to push his annoyance away, taking a deep breath and carefully monitoring his fingers as they unlaced suddenly from Hermione's hand. "With all due respect, Hermione," he began, "I rarely ever spend my parents money. I just wanted to treat you two to a nice meal and a few drinks, as you are my two best friends." Luna smiled happily, but Hermione's lips merely quirked upward slightly.

"Thank you, Harry," Luna said, holding back a snicker as Hermione rushed to thank her boyfriend as well. Harry just waved his hand, as he was typically unconcerned about money and he knew that he probably wouldn't be able to spend all of his in a lifetime, much less one Three Broomsticks lunch.

Harry opened a menu, as he was actually quite hungry, and he decided at length that he would have fish and chips. Hermione was against seafood, so she chose a chicken salad, whereas Luna said she didn't want any food at all. "Oh, I ate some sweets when we went in Honeydukes," she confessed. "You can certainly buy me another drink though, Harry." She fluttered her eyelashes after this statement, which left Hermione steaming and Harry feeling rather jittery. Under the table he started to tap his foot, nervous for some reason.

Harry smiled and waved his hand to get Rosmerta's attention. She carried on with her duties, oblivious. Hermione's scowl at Luna's behavior went unnoticed as Harry was turned away from her. He did, however, see Luna's contemplative grin when he turned back around.

"Let me ask you guys a... personal question," she said. Hermione frowned but Harry insisted she go ahead and ask. "Well, you've been together a month or two, right?" Hermione attempted to answer her but Luna continued before she could. "Congratulations! That is a long time by Hogwarts standards!" Harry chuckled, whereas Hermione continued to look at Luna disbelievingly. "I'm sorry, but it just seems like you guys are very similar and I'm so glad that you two have had a chance to get to know eachother better."

To say Harry was surprised would be an understatement; the girl who had just kissed him in the Magic Neep fifteen minutes previous was now saying that he was meant to be with someone else, and he wasn't sure how he should take that. If she was being facetious, he could understand, and on some level even approve, but it seemed like she was being genuine.

For a long time no one at the table spoke and the only sounds came from the other patrons. "Thank you," Hermione finally said, though it looked like it pained her to say it to Luna. "I appreciate your vote of confidence. I know Harry is your best friend so it means a lot that you think I'm right for him." She squeezed Harry's hand and Harry forced a feeble smile.

Suddenly, Luna laughed. "Don't be foolish! I don't think you're right for him, Hermione. I'm just glad you guys got to know eachother better."

Harry strongly considered slamming his head against the table. Perhaps someone could take him to Madame Pomfrey before the spells started flying between the two girls. He searched the pub, noticing that Romilda Vane looked suspiciously intrigued by the conversation Harry, Luna and Hermione were having. It slipped his mind moments later when Hermione's shock wore off and she began her retaliation.

"I'm foolish? Compared to you, I'm a bloody astrophysicist!"

Luna scoffed, looking at her nails. "Maybe an asshole who is a bitch."

"What?!" Hermione screamed, standing up and knocking over her butterbeer. The brown liquid streamed from the table, leaving Harry's robes soaked before he could move out of the way. "You are a bitch, not me! You've done nothing but pine after Harry for years, and I bet if he didn't feel so sorry for you, he wouldn't give you the time of day!" Hermione was breathing heavy when she finished her rant, and she didn't look as if she regretted any of what she said.

Luna's mouth formed an O but she remained silent. Harry could see one tear in her left eye, and it slipped for only a second before Luna wiped it clean with her napkin. "Luna, that is not true!" Harry exclaimed. He turned to his girlfriend urgently. "And Hermione..."

"No, Harry, I can stick up for myself," Luna said, her voice not wavering in the slightest. She stood up, and Harry was struck suddenly by the fact that Luna was actually taller than Hermione. "I've been dealing with people like you all my life, Hermione. You think because I dress different, act different, and talk about things you don't believe in that somehow I am below you. You think that because my father owns a paper that doesn't cater to people like you that I'm strange, weird, maybe even insane. But you're wrong, Hermione; I chose to distance myself from the others at this school because when I first got here they picked on me relentlessly... because I was too small, not girly enough, didn't like boys, and went on Snorkack hunts with my father even though we both know they don't exist!"

People across the pub were starting to stare now, and despite his best efforts, Harry could not open his mouth to stop the argument from getting worse. He had never heard Luna talk so freely about her first year, and he could almost feel the pain she had gone through that semester, being openly mocked wherever she went without a single person to help her or even compliment her from time to time. Her father truly was a lunatic, distraught as he was after his wife's death, and she had been forced to become a woman all on her own. His heart ached for his best friend.

"For a long time they wouldn't let up, and I didn't think they ever would. I begged my father to let me come home and stay with him and work on the Quibbler, but he demanded I pursue my education first. In fact, I didn't make a single friend until Harry caught me crying alone in the common room and asked me if we could be friends. You could never understand how happy I was to find someone who looked past the abnormal part of me and saw the human being, not the raddish ear rings."

"So for you to say that Harry pitied me... you're probably right." Hermione's eyes grew wide as saucers and Harry's mouth fell open just a bit. "But that is just being human - I was a pitiful girl then and I needed someone's pity. But, no matter what, Harry is my first and best friend, and that comes before any type of romantic feelings I might have for him. If he said he wanted to marry you today I would support him. He'd be a damned fool, but I would support him."

Luna smiled then. "And if he said he wanted to marry me today... I'd say I do."

There were gasps from all around them, as people had begun to crowd around the three students. Hermione was rapidly turning red and looked ready to unleash some of the more insulting words in her vocabularly. Harry was paling rapidly, seeing that most of the school was present and waiting impatiently for a brawl to start. Luna gazed serenely at Hermione, almost as if she was daring the Gryffindor girl to come across the table. A Cheshire cat smile was still etched on her face.

Suddenly, the other people around Harry began whispering feverishly, and they all turned their attention to the doorway. With a tremendous slam the front door crashed into the wall, sending a sixth year Hufflepuff and his girlfriend scrambling out of the way. Harry's eyes widened larger than Hermione's when the doorway produced Ginny Weasley, along with a satisfied-looking Parvati Patil. Lavender Brown trailed behind them, her mouth open in awe at the strange scene in front of her.

Harry stood very still. He could feel his heart-beating in his chest. Only one question crossed his mind in his moment of teenage turmoil.

What the hell do I do now?

* * *

><p>Harry didn't know what to say. His best friend of four years had more or less told the whole school she would marry him if he asked. To make problems worse, he was sitting beside his girlfriend when Luna said it! Hermione was going to murder him in the Three Broomsticks, and judging by the looks on many other girls' faces she would probably get away with it. To make things worse, his not-so-secret admirer had just arrived to great fanfare, having been given a wide berth by the rest of the students. Their eager anticipation was palpable, as was the tremor in his chest everytime he thought of what was sure to come.<p>

Harry turned his head to the right to find Hermione glaring daggers at him. "Do you have anything to say about this?" The stiff point of her index finger found his rib cage then, telling him exactly what he was supposed to say.

"I had no idea, Hermione. I swear!" This was only the slightest of lies, as he knew Luna liked him, but he truly had not expected her to thoughtlessly ruin the trio's day on the town; then again, he thought to himself, maybe Luna knew exactly what she was doing. His thoughts were interrupted by Hermione's raised voice, questioning him.

"You had no idea that your best friend was in love with you? That she wants to marry you?" She huffed, though it sounded more like a wounded animal than anything. "And you want me to believe that?!"

Harry shook his head in the negative, too bewildered to form a coherent sentence. "No idea!"

"He had some idea," Luna said, non-chalantly. "I told him often enough how I wanted him to be the first person I slept with-" which was met with gasps from the other students, "but he kept saying that we had to wait 'til I was 'legal'." She mimed quotation marks in the air with her fingers, smiling. "Right, Harry?"

Ginny gasped, but it was obvious she had not heard Luna's last comment, which was a small blessing; unfortunately for Harry, it was equally obvious that Hermione had heard it. Ginny smiled shyly, further confusing Harry.

"Now wait just a minute!" he said, annoyed and angry that the situation was spiralling so quickly out of his control. He was immediately cut off by Ginny, who stepped in front of him expectantly and eyed him speculatively, totally ignoring the other girls' squabble. "What?" Harry said belligerently.

"Here you are," Ginny breathed, turning away from him and facing the crowd. She carried on, speaking more to the gathered students than to him. "I heard you had something that you wanted to say to me?" He looked incredulously at Ginny, before scanning the room quickly. He noticed Lavender and Parvati sinking into the crowd with guilty and pleased looks on their respective faces and he correctly assumed that they had put Ginny up to this. He could only imagine the thoughts running through Ginny's head, perhaps convinced he was going to confess he was attracted to her, but his attention was diverted by his incredibly angry girlfriend.

Hermione had been silent for most of Luna's outburst, with the exception of asking Harry whether or not he knew of Luna's interest, but when the blonde girl admitted her affection for Harry went past mere friendship, it was virtually impossible for Hermione to rein in her anger for more than a few seconds.

"Unfortunately for you, he already has a girlfriend," she began, though she was more or less stating the obvious. "And I'm not willing to share!"

Harry would normally appreciate that sentiment, but he was well aware it would be impossible to be friends with Luna and continue to make Hermione happy. The words Luna had shared earlier in the day came back to haunt him, and he realized she had been right - he was trying too hard to please everyone, and in the end, it came down to what he desired for himself. Still, if there was a way to resolve the argument without hurting either of the girls' feelings he would jump at the opportunity.

Luna snorted at Hermione's declaration, obviously unconcerned. Under her breath, but just loud enough for Hermione to hear, Luna said, "As if that ever mattered." She trailed off, glancing at Harry and licking her lips.

Hermione screwed up her face in her confusion. "What is that supposed to mean?" Her eyes turned immediately to Harry, who was looking imploringly at Luna. "And what is that supposed to mean?!" She pushed Harry with her right arm, as if trying to get him out of the booth they were currently seated in. Luna turned her face away and hid it underneath her long, blonde locks, trying and failing to stifle her laughter, though it didn't look like she made much of an effort. Hermione cocked her head sideways, eyes boring holes into Harry's head.

"What the hell is she talking about, Harry?"

Harry's fish-face wasn't doing him any favors; Hermione's cheeks reddened noticeably and her bottom lip began to quiver slightly. Just when he thought she would scream, or at the very least break down in tears, Hermione ignored him in favor of leaping across the table and grabbing Luna by her long hair. "All this time you just wanted him for yourself! You back-stabbing little-"

Harry stood in awe at the scene before him; Hermione had thrown herself across the table, sending their long-forgotten drinks flying all over, and she was unceremoniously dragging Luna into the aisle. Meanwhile, the blonde girl was laughing heartily, as if this was all part of one well-rehearsed comedy routine. A thousand thoughts ran through his head, but he wasn't at all accustomed to having women fight over him.

At least, not literally.

"He's my boyfriend!"

"So?"

"Mmph- stop grabbing my hair!"

"You grabbed mine first! How does it feel!"

Harry made an attempt to break them up, but was rebuffed by Hermione and Luna barrelling into him and sending him flying back into the booth. They remained standing, still holding onto eachother's hair, and traded insults while they battled for position. Ginny slid out of the way gratefully, a shocked look gracing her slight features.

"I'm sorry, bitch, but you'll have to wait your turn because I'm - not - finished - yet!" Hermione punctuated each word with a tug on Luna's hair, and the girl moaned in pain, struggling to hurt Hermione as much as she was hurting her.

"He is my friend, and I don't want to see him with a controlling bitch like you!" Harry, who was trying to get back to his feet in the booth, wondered at both girls' repeated use of the word 'bitch'.

"You're a bitch, bitch!"

"No," Luna said, pushing Hermione away from her and breaking contact for the first time since the fight began. She took a deep breath, as they were both panting and sweating, and she said, "You're the bitch. You stole my only friend, and you're turning him into a pussy!"

"Hey!" Harry said, surprised. "I'm not a-"

Draco Malfoy guffawed from across the room, joined by a young blonde girl Harry didn't recognize. "You are a pussy, Potter! I've known it for years!"

Harry ignored the Slytherin boy, as the rest of the students had drowned him out by shouting anyway. It didn't seem like many of them were defending him, though he saw Marcus and a few other friends in the crowd. The boy nodded his head slightly, but it was obvious he planned on leaving Harry to handle this problem on his own. Somewhere behind him, Harry could hear the sounds of Madame Rosmerta and at least one professor asking the students to move out of the way so that they could stop whoever was fighting.

Harry tried to disrupt the fight, seperating the girls though they still seemed like they were going to swing at eachother at any moment. "Look, girls! This isn't the time or the place for this..."

Hermione snapped, "And where is the time and place, Harry?" She encroached on Harry, coming very close and whispering acidically, "Is it the bloody Magic Neep? I knew I shouldn't have let you run off with that two-timing whore!"

"Who are you calling a whore, Hermione? Are you deaf? Didn't I just tell you I wanted to lose my virginity to him?"

"Shut the-" Hermione swung her fist around Harry, trying to connect with Luna, but Harry pushed her arm aside just enough that her knuckles collided with Ginny, who was innocently standing near them. The redheaded girl went down in a heap, and Hermione gasped in shock, having accidentally given her ex-best friend a concussion. She fell to the floor herself a moment later, draping her arms around her friend and apologizing profusely, tears streaming down her face.

Luna's face, on the other hand, seemed torn between laughter and concern, as Ginny was a long-time friend of hers and she did not wish to see the girl knocked out no matter how awesome the fall out from it all would surely be. While everyone else was turned away and looking at Hermione and Ginny, Luna straightened her clothes and hair and tapped Harry, who was pale-faced and standing stock still, on the shoulder.

"Listen," she whispered. "You still have an opportunity to slip out of here unnoticed if you want to. They'll pin the fight on Hermione and Ginny anyway, and Hermione's brave enough she might even take all responsibility for the fight. The rumor mill will be hard at work, telling us about the scintillating love triangle between you, Herms and Gina."

Harry was tempted to laugh at Ginny's unfortunate nickname, but looking at the girl who was just starting to come back to consciousness, Harry couldn't even force a smile. He whispered in turn, "This isn't a joke, Luna... as much as I'd like it to be. Why did you have to start trouble today, of all days? You knew how this would end..."

"Actually, I had no idea Hermione would clock Ginny..."

"That's not what I mean, and you know it." Harry shook his head angrily. "I knew you liked me, Luna, and if you want me to be perfectly honest, I have feelings for you too." Luna's face turned serious at this statement, possibly for the first time since Harry had invited her to Hogsmeade. However, Harry had no intentions of letting her get off that easy. "But now those feelings are clouded by the simple fact you betrayed the shit out of me!"

"Betrayed?" Luna cocked her head quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"If you wanted me to break up with Hermione you could have said, 'Hey! Harry! Why don't you break up with Hermione?' Forcing us both into a situation where she has to break up with me was totally unnecessary..."

"Yeah, right! You're telling me you would have immediately canned her just because I asked you to? If you did everything I asked we'd both be naked on the lakeshore right now!"

"Damnit, Luna... I'm just saying you made things a lot more difficult than they could and probably should have been. You don't want me to be with her, fine, but you have to let me make the decision for myself!" Harry still had not raised his voice over a whisper, but he knew Luna could tell he was angry with her. He was still absolutely certain she wouldn't go back and change things if she could, but if she could recognize why he was mad, and at least apologize, maybe he could think about letting her off the hook.

"Difficult is your middle name, Harry 'Difficult' Potter! I've been telling you plain out, for at least a year, that I want you so badly I stay up at night thinking about you, that I drive myself insane because I'm close to you everyday and share my deepest darkest secrets with you, that I want to have you to myself, but your sorry excuse for a brain can't understand because you're so wrapped up in who's the new flavor of the week kissing you dead on the lips doesn't even change anything!" For the first time Luna was starting to raise her voice, and Harry's ire was rising as well.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have kissed me then!" Harry yelled, and then immediately regretted it, having drawn Hermione's attention as well as the surrounding students.

"So, you did kiss her?" Whispers of 'Harry kissed Luna!' were passed across the room in quick succession, and Harry could hear one very loud voice cursing him above the din, but he had no time to pay it any mind. Hermione took his silence as an obvious sign of his guilt, and immediately laid into him. "You despicable mongrel of a man! You invite me to Hogsmeade, just to break my heart in front of everyone!?" Her voice was approaching hysterical, and tears were still freely falling down her bright red cheeks. Harry unconsciously took a step back, stumbling over the front of the booth and sitting down unintentionally. "You are the worst boyfriend in the history of Hogwarts! Congratulations!"

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but at the hurt and distrustful look so glaringly obvious in Hermione's eyes, he decided not to say anything at all. He simply looked down, feeling like a massive numpty, and unable to convey his sorrow in any helpful way.

"We are through," Hermione said with finality, and Harry's eyes rose to meet hers, though he was not at all surprised when she turned away. Her last words were meant for Luna, however. "Good luck with him, Lovegood. He's not at all worth the trouble."

She went to Ginny and helped her friend to stand, and when the Gryffindor girl regained her footing, Hermione began leading her out of the bar. Parvati and Lavender followed them, shortly joined by Romilda, who couldn't resist sneering at Harry as she walked to the door.

Harry stood then, walking behind Hermione and calmly placing a hand on her shoulder with the intent to turn her around. She remained still, with her head turned away from him and Ginny crying on her other shoulder. "What is it, Harry? Have you come to ask for forgiveness? To tell me how sorry you are that it 'didn't work out' like you planned? Or do you just want to rub it all in my face, just like you have all day today!" Angrily, she shrugged his hand off of her shoulder, and began walking away.

Harry said, "Hermione, please just wait! I can explain everything if you would just give me a chance!"

Hermione laughed, though there was no humor in it. "I gave you a chance. You screwed the pooch, though I have to wonder whether that refers to that bitch or not." She glanced at Luna hatefully, a look which was returned with almost as much intensity.

"Will you just listen!" Harry yelped.

"She doesn't have to listen to you, Potter!" That was the voice of Ron Weasley. Harry belatedly realized that Ron had been the voice he heard cursing him above the clamor of the students. Wearily, Harry turned his eyes to the redhead, who seemed to be incensed, though Harry couldn't tell whether he was more concerned that Ginny had been knocked out or that Hermione had been hurt.

"I know that, Ron," Harry said distractedly. "But really, this is all a giant misunderstanding!"

"The only person misunderstanding," Ron said dangerously, "is you, Potter, so you better back off right now." Harry ignored him, desperate to get Hermione to at least look at him before she left the Three Broomsticks. He knew this was his last chance to change things between himself and Hermione, because despite her usually friendly demeanor, she was the type to hold a grudge for quite some time. Not speaking to her after the most embarrassing episode of her teenage years would solidify Harry as a magnificent bastard.

Hermione was on her way out the door when Harry grabbed her by the forearm, gently pulling her back inside so that they could talk; however, his unexpected attempt to retrieve his ex-girlfriend lead to Ginny bumping her sore head against the exit door. She cried out in pain, and thought it was only slight contact, Ron growled in anger. In less than a moment the much taller Gryffindor boy swung at Harry, his much larger fist connecting with Harry's temple.

The last thing Harry saw before he slammed into the floor weightless, was Hermione's blank face, showing no emotion. The last thing he heard was Ron's jubilant laughter.

* * *

><p>Draco Malfoy was having the best time of his entire life; at least, thats what he kept telling the girl sitting with him, who had been there to see his biggest enemy knocked out by his second biggest enemy. Astoria was all too happy to humor him, placing a smooth, perfectly manicured hand on top of his, and massaging his fingers as he spoke.<p>

"This is the greatest day of my life," he repeated, still in awe. "I am the luckiest man in the world."

His eyes scanned the room, which had emptied out quite a bit after the fight. McGonagall and Madame Rosmerta had taken one look at Ron, who was rubbing his knuckles in pain, and Harry, who wasn't moving on the floor, and determined that Ron and Harry were fighting and Ron was the guilty party. It didn't matter that Ron tried to explain himself, or that other students had noted Ginny, Hermione and Luna's squabble just before that, Ron had been the only one seen by a professor doing anything, so he was going to be punished the most severely.

"I have to say," Astoria began, "It really has been a great day. Its mostly thanks to you, however."

Draco tried to sneer, but it came out more like a smile. "I'm just glad I could share it with good company, is all." He tried to ignore how much he sounded like a love-struck teenager by adding, "You know, not that I was lonely or something stupid."

The awkward moment passed when Astoria hummed in agreement, ignoring the typically stoic Slytherin's behavior. "Would you like to meet here next Hogsmeade weekend? Maybe we can... go somewhere were the two of us can be lonely... together." She sounded hopeful, and more than little demure, and Draco couldn't resist thinking it sounded like a great idea.

"Sure," he said, simply, trying to act aloof and failing for the most part; Astoria's eyes widened and then her smile stretched as well, her straight, white teeth drawing Draco's attention. A second glance at her lips left him leaning in unconsciously, until suddenly, as if by magnetism, their lips were drawn together and then touched, for only a moment.

It was in that moment that Draco realized two things: one, Astoria's lips were awfully soft and tasted a bit like cherry, and two, his girlfriend was standing right behind Astoria, looking murderous. Pulling back from the kiss, he frowned heavily, shocked that he had been caught by Pansy. Astoria, having no idea Pansy was even there, said, "I can't wait to try that again next time."

"There won't be a next time," Pansy screeched, causing Astoria to jump out of her seat and immediately drop into defensive position. It was obvious she wasn't willing to become the third person knocked out in the Three Broomsticks this afternoon. "Because you won't be around to see it!"

Pansy pulled her wand from her robes and waved it threateningly, sparks flying through the air and sending students from the neighboring tables scrambling out of their seats. Once again a crowd formed around the arguing students, who were intent on seeing another brawl break out. However, Pansy had no intention of fighting Astoria or Draco.

"I, Pansy Parkinson, do hereby declare the marriage proposal given by the Malfoy family to the Parkinson family void, as the male betrothed has violated the stipulations of the contract by kissing another girl before consumation of the marriage. So mote it be."

"What?!" Draco yelled, standing up so quickly his robes got caught on his chair; it slammed to the ground loudly, causing a third year Slytherin to yelp in fear. "What the hell do you mean 'so mote it be'? You aren't allowed to cancel our betrothal just like that!"

Pansy laughed in his face, sweeping her long black hair back behind her head and kicking his chair at him. It smacked into his knee and she smiled at his painful oath. "Watch me! I've read through the rules and regulations looking for loopholes enough that I know if you cheat on me before we're even married I don't have to go through with it. Kissing, dear Draco, counts as cheating."

"My lips weren't even puckered!"

"I don't give a shit!" Pansy screamed, forgetting that she was just laughing and smiling. "I've been looking for a way out since the beginning, now I found one. No hard feelings... you poncy little cunt." Many of the other students laughed, now beginning to crowd the Slytherin boy who was on one knee and rubbing the other. She mentally reminded herself to thank Harry Potter, and then had to force herself not to think about how she would reward the Boy Who Lived.

"This will never hold up in court! You wait 'til my father and your father hear about this!"

"When I say 'I don't give a shit' that is what I mean!"

"Your family is dead, Parkinson!"

Pansy just shook her head, sorry to have ever dealt with the snobbish little boy in the first place. In fact, rather than feel angry that another girl had stolen her man, she was actually relieved and felt grateful to Astoria. Turning to the younger girl, who was still prepared to fight if it came to that, she smiled and said, "Good luck with him, Greengrass. You're going to need it!"

She walked off, striding out of the Three Broomsticks as quickly as she had entered. Her heart felt as if it would bust with happiness, knowing that she would no longer have to become Pansy Malfoy and spend the rest of her life making spoiled little scions that held their daddy's coat tails.

Besides, Pansy Potter sounded a lot better.


End file.
